Italy: Where and when to wear a mask?

Rome: With several parts of Italy tightening the local rules on face masks, it’s no longer just indoors that you might have to cover your face.

Like with most things in Italy, the regulations on face masks can vary by region and even by city – and in recent days, local authorities have been responding to rising infections by adopting stricter rules.

Anywhere you go in Italy you’ll have to wear a mask indoors, but in some places you’ll have to start keeping it on outdoors too.

Here’s a round-up of the rules. The nationwide rule in Italy is that you have to wear a face mask at all times in any enclosed public space, including shops, restaurants, public transport and schools. You don’t usually have to keep your mask on outdoors – except at night.

As coronavirus infections linked to nightlife spiked over the summer, the government made it mandatory to wear a mask outside between 6pm and 6am. The rule applies in all areas where there’s a risk of crowding, like busy squares and streets lined with bars.

Police regularly patrol to enforce the rules and there are fines of up to €1,000 if you fail to comply. The parts of Italy where you have to wear a face mask in public at all times

Masks remain mandatory outdoors in Lombardy, the northern region hid hardest by Italy’s first wave, which has now been requiring people to cover their face everywhere in public for several months.

Until at least October 15th, you must wear a mask anywhere outdoors where you can’t guarantee at least a metre’s distance between you and anyone else.

But as new clusters threaten to break out, local authorities elsewhere have responded by toughening the rules on face masks too.

The southern region of Campania, which recorded hundreds of new cases this week, on Thursday made masks compulsory everywhere in public 24 hours a day.

That applies indoors and outdoors, and regardless of whether you’re in a crowded area or not. The rule remains in force until at least October 4th.

The neighbouring region of Calabria followed suit on Friday and made masks mandatory outdoors 24/7 until October 7th.

Since Wednesday, masks are also required outdoors at all times in the centre of the city of Genoa.

The local authorities have designated certain streets – mainly in the old town and around the port: find a full list here – areas of elevated risk after detecting a worrying number of infections there. The requirement remains in force until October 4th.

The province of La Spezia, like Genoa in the north-west coastal region Liguria, made masks compulsory outdoors on September 11th in response to signs of a local outbreak.

The rule, which was accompanied by school closures and a ban on public gatherings, is set to expire on September 27th after case numbers began to improve.

Latina, a province of Lazio near Rome, this week ordered people to wear masks at all times in outdoor areas where you can’t maintain social distance, until at least October 15th. Failing to comply will earn you a €100 fine.

Meanwhile the city of Foggia in Puglia has ordered everyone to begin wearing masks outdoors from Friday, September 25th until further notice. The rule applies specifically to busy shopping and dining streets in the city centre: find a list here.

Yes: children under 6 don’t have to wear a face mask, nor do people with disabilities or other health problems that makes wearing a mask impossible.

And of course, you’re allowed to take your mask off to eat or drink in a restaurant, bar or café – though you’ll have to put it back on to leave your table.

Some areas that require masks outdoors 24/7, including Campania, also make an exception for people exercising on their own, like solo runners.