Covid-19: Italy Announces 5-day Quarantine for EU Arrivals

Photo source: salute.gov.it

Italy has announced that all travelers from EU countries will be required to spend five days in quarantine upon their arrival to the country.

According to a decree signed by Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Tuesday, all people arriving or returning from European Union countries will be required to take a coronavirus test before departure, quarantine for five days and be tested again.

The decree will be effective immediately after its publication, a ministry spokesman said.

The measure was taken as part of tighter coronavirus restrictions ahead of the Easter holidays.

Quarantine is already in place for arrivals from non-EU countries, while Italian citizens are discouraged from traveling unless considered necessary.

Italy was the first European country to face the full force of the pandemic and has officially recorded more than 3.5 million coronavirus infections and over 108,000 deaths so far.

In the last 24 hours, the country announced 12,900 new coronavirus cases and 417 deaths.

As of 15 March, a total of 7.734.372 vaccine doses have been administered in the country.