From early June 2020, Italy is all set to reopen its doors to European tourists and scrap a 14-day mandatory quarantine period, on Saturday, the government has mentioned as the country expedited its exit from the coronavirus lockdown.
In early March 2020, the Prime Minister of Italy, Mr. Giuseppe Conte put into effect an economically crippling shutdown to control the pandemic that has so far taken 31,500 lives in Italy.
The shutdown stopped all holidaymaking in a country that is immensely dependent on tourism. Even though officially Italy never closed its borders and has allowed people to cross back and forth for work or health purposes. It had stopped movement for tourism and a two-week isolation period was imposed for new arrivals.
In March, the European Union temporarily stopped international tourists from entering its Schengen zone, an open border zone having around 22 of 27 member states, with exceptions for medical workers and essential travel.
However, on Wednesday, the EU has declared proposals for a phased revival of summer travel by requesting the member states to reopen its internal borders, at the same time suggesting that maximum external borders will remain shut for travel until the mid of June.
In a press release, Italy’s government did not openly mention which nationals of foreign countries would get green signals to enter, but said its new measures respected the “legal order of the European Union”.
From the beginning on June 3rd, visitors within the Schengen zone will be allowed to enter Italy without self-isolate. Also, Italians will be able to move between regions, although local authorities will have the power to restrict travel if infections spike.
Movements to and from abroad can be limited by regional decree “in relation to specific states and territories, in accordance with the principles of adequacy and proportionality to the epidemiological risk”, the government said.
Also, the recent decree will work as a boon to Italy’s agricultural sector, which depends on 350,000 seasonal workers from other countries.
Farming lobby group Coldiretti has recently explained that farms were by now preparing to organize 150,000 workers from Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.
At the end of March 2020, the peak season of Italy’s contagion has passed but with experts cautioning a second wave cannot be ruled out, Conte had been unwilling to lift the lockdown quickly.
Tags: European tourists, Italy
