TheGuardian – Italy will allow tourists to enter quarantine-free as soon as this month, the prime minister, Mario Draghi, has announced, saying the country is “ready to welcome back the world”.
Visitors who have had an EU-approved Covid-19 vaccine, recovered from the disease or tested negative 48 hours prior to travelling will be allowed entry without restrictions, a tourism ministry source said.
The new rules will apply to all countries apart from those on Italy’s travel restrictions blacklist, including Brazil and India.
Italy’s government is racing to save its summer tourism season to benefit an industry badly damaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Few countries are intertwined with tourism as Italy. The world longs to travel here,” Draghi, who was appointed prime minister in February, said after a meeting of G20 tourism ministers in Rome on Tuesday. “Our mountains, our beaches, our cities and our countryside are reopening. And this process will speed up in the coming weeks and months.”
The new rules will form part of Italy’s “green pass” while it waits for the EU’s equivalent, which is expected to begin in the second half of June. “From mid-May tourists can have the Italian pass … so the time has come to book your holidays to Italy,” Draghi said.
Cambiano le regole della quarantena
IlSole24ore – L’apertura al turismo costringerà il governo a rivedere alcune regole attualmente in vigore. La prima è l’ordinanza che definisce l’ingresso in Italia per chi proviene dall’estero e che scade il 15 maggio. Sarà modificata. Ad oggi è previsto un tampone in entrata, quarantena di 5 giorni e un nuovo tampone per chi proviene dall’Unione europea e dalla Gran Bretagna. Per i cittadini che provengono da paesi extra Ue, cambia solo la durata della quarantena, che passa da 5 a 10 giorni. Mentre da Brasile, India, Bangladesh e Sri Lanka è vietato l’ingresso nel nostro paese a prescindere dalla motivazione. Per entrare in Italia dagli altri Paesi Ue, dalla Gran Bretagna e da Israele, basterà dunque seguire le stesse regole che valgono per spostarsi verso regioni in zona arancione o rossa.
Come visit Italy, Draghi says after G20 tourism meeting
NationalPost – Prime Minister Mario Draghi urged foreigners on Tuesday to book their summer holidays in Italy, saying it was set to introduce travel passes from the middle of May, sooner than much of the rest of Europe.
Speaking after a meeting of tourism ministers from the Group of 20 wealthy nations, Draghi said it was important to provide clear, simple rules to ensure that tourists can once again travel freely in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the European Union would introduce a health pass by the middle of June, allowing easy travel across the continent for those who had been vaccinated, had just tested negative or could prove they had recently recovered from COVID-19.
But he said Italy, which generates some 13% of its economic output from tourism, would have its own green pass ready by the middle of this month.
“Let us not wait until mid-June for the EU pass,” Draghi said. “In mid-May tourists can have the Italian pass … so the time has come to book your holidays in Italy,” he added.
Travel between Italian regions has been strictly restricted for much of the year to fight the virus. But with case numbers falling, the government hopes to attract visitors over the summer with so-called vaccine passports.
While the U.S. and EU talk COVID passports, Canada says it still has concerns about virus spread
CBC – “Restrictions after vaccination, including the use of vaccine certifications, are being considered around the world as we look toward reopening our economies and our borders,” said a spokesperson from Health Minister Patty Hajdu’s office.
“Our focus is making sure Canadians are safe and healthy, and our response will continue to be based on science and evidence.” On Monday EU officials confirmed that the 27-country bloc is talking to the U.S. about a European plan to develop a type of international COVID-19 passport called a Digital Green Certificate. Officials said the EU was not talking to any other countries besides the U.S. about it at the moment.
