Summer has given Italians a break from constantly thinking about the coronavirus but it seems that despite the hard measures imposed during the darkest days in early march, numbers are creeping up yet again. The Italian government and health ministry has now imposed new measures closing nightclubs and imposing masks outdoors from 6pm to 6am starting today until September 7th. It is also forbidden to dance in lidos, public beaches and hotels.
It is worth noting that you should have a mask on outdoors if you are less than 6 feet from another person regardless of the time of day. Italy's COVID-19 death toll now stands at 35,234.
These measures seemed aimed to curb infections rising amongst young people who are going out more during the Ferragosto holidays as well as returning from holidays abroad. The reimposition of restrictions came after data showed new cases in the past week were more than double those registered three weeks ago, with the median age of people contracting Covid-19 dropping to below 40 (source). A further 479 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Sunday, down from 629 on Saturday.
“We cannot nullify the sacrifices made in past months. Our priority must be that of opening schools in September, in full safety,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook.
In another measure designed to slow the spread of the virus, Mr Speranza issued an order last week requiring coronavirus testing for all travellers arriving in Italy from Croatia, Greece, Malta or Spain because of an increase in cases in those countries.
