In Rome, tourist attractions such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon reopened their doors on Monday. In large part of the country, including the capital, residents can go to other regions with a relatively low infection rate.
There, restaurants and cafés are also allowed to serve customers during the day. An estimated 300,000 of these catering tents – slightly more than 80 percent of the total – can benefit from this.
The Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum are also open to visitors again after an 88-day closure. However, many of Rome’s top cultural attractions were quiet, with sometimes more employees than visitors. Foreign tourists are almost absent.
The corona pandemic has hit Italy hard, with more than 2.5 million infections and about 85,000 deaths. On Sunday, 11,252 infections and 237 deaths were added.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza made it clear that the relaxation “does not mean the danger is over” and called for great caution. Health experts and also World Health Organization WHO have warned that the relaxation could come too soon.
In the sixteen “yellow” regions, the inhabitants have been given a little more freedom. The other five regions – Sicily, Sardinia, Puglia, Umbria and South Tyrol – remain orange. This means that pick-up is only possible from the catering industry, and people have to stay near their home for no valid reason. Museums are closed.
Throughout the country, a curfew continues to apply from 10 p.m.