With the change of color for Liguria and other regions such as Lombardy and Piedmont, there are now thirteen regions in the lowest risk range (before June, Liguria and all regions were either yellow, orange or red).
Being a white zone means that the curfew is finally abolished (previously set at 10 p.m. then 11 p.m. now midnight in some regions), while the prohibition of gathering, mandatory hand sanitation and the mask mandate - both outdoors and indoors - remain.
Italy currently has one of the most encouraging results after the vaccination campaign has started and that allows us to look at the future with more confidence. We must insist on this path with caution though. Today more than ever it is necessary to keep the correct habits in order not to compromise the situation and ‘’throw away’’ the many sacrifices that we have made.
While in the yellow zone there is still a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m., for the people living in the white zone the curfew is abolished and this means a lot because it is no longer necessary to return home within a certain time and this means the reopening of cocktail bars, restaurants and other catering activities where one can have food and drinks without time limits.
The new rules of the white zone provide that in the “white” outdoor areas there are no limits of people at the tables (but between one another there must still be a distance of one meter), while indoors in bars and restaurants a maximum of six people can sit at the same table and they must all be living together. I find these rules quite odd but these are the rules established by the Ministry of Health.
With the arrival of Summer, dropping such restrictions means also the return of tourists and the lift of the measures allows many food establishments the possibility to offer a double shift for lunch and dinner therefore leading to an important increase in hospitality capacity and revenues, after a particularly difficult year because of the pandemic.
Many Italians I know have chosen to go on holiday in June this year, driven by the reduction of infections and the lift of restriction measures but also by the arrival of good weather and the end of schools.
Nevertheless, the number of tourists remains much lower than that before the pandemic because, above all, there is a lack of foreigners who are still waiting to know when the European Union ‘green pass’ will become effective.
It seems that on July 1st we’ll have in fact a ‘green pass’ which will allow all European Union citizens to travel freely around the EU if they have received the first shot of the vaccine at least, recovered from Covid-19 in the previous 3 months or recently had a negative swab.
This pass will encourage people to return to Italy for holiday during the summer months and let those Italians (like myself) who are eager to go abroad travel for the Summer too.
People who are in the white area are also allowed to visit relatives and friends without time limits or limitations in the number of people.
Now masks do not have to be certified and everyone can choose which mask to use: cloth masks, disposable ones, washable ones, even self-made ones, as long as they are made of multilayer materials suitable for providing an adequate barrier and, at the same time, guaranteeing adherence to cover the nose and mouth, from the chin.
In the regions in the white zone, business such as indoor and outdoor swimming pools, gyms, game rooms, theme parks and museums can finally reopen.
Private events, such as wedding and birthday parties can also start again but, with the introduction of the green pass, it seems that everyone invited will need to be vaccinated or have had a negative swab not older than 2 days before the event.
White zone. Eating outdoors
