Italy eases covid-19 restrictions for Rome and Milan

Rome: Italy has eased its coronavirus restrictions for most of the country including the Lazio region around Rome and the Lombardia region around Milan.

Both Rome and Milan will be downgraded from medium-risk orange zones to lower-risk yellow zones, with effect from Monday.

The move, announced by Italian health minister Roberto Speranza, is based on regional levels of covid-19 risk, under Italy’s tiered system of restrictions.

The most significant change for Rome and Milan will be that bars and restaurants can reopen their doors to customers (under the orange zone restrictions it was take-away service only) until 18.00, and there will be greater freedom to travel.

It also means that museums and archaeological sites, which have been closed since 6 November, can reopen but only from Monday to Friday – not at weekends.

The regions of Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Umbria and the autonomous province of Bolzano remain orange zones. There are currently no regions in Italy’s highest-risk red zones.

The Lazio region has been classified as an orange zone since 17 January following semi-lockdown measures in Italy over the Christmas and New Year period.

The restrictions imposed on each region are based on the latest data from the health ministry and the Higher Health Institute’s monitoring report.