Most regions of Italy were downgraded to yellow zones at the beginning of the week, in which the authorities rated the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen as low. None of the regions is still designated as a red zone, the category with the greatest risk of infection. South Tyrol, Umbria, Apulia and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily were classified as the orange zone – the category for the medium risk of infection.
In the yellow zones, the cafés that are so important for Italians are now allowed to reopen during the day. Even restaurants that were previously only able to offer out-of-home service can now again serve guests on site until 6 p.m. Sights such as the Colosseum in Rome are also open to visitors again – but only Monday to Friday. With the closure at the weekend, large crowds are to be prevented. The nightly curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. remains in force nationwide.
An unusual picture: visitors to the Colosseum in Rome
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“Greatest Caution”
The Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza warned citizens against negligent behavior. The classification of regions as yellow zones does not mean “that we have escaped the danger,” said Speranza. People must continue to “exercise the greatest caution if we do not want to reverse the progress of the past few weeks”.
During the first wave of infections in spring 2020, Italy was one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in Europe. In total, more than 88,000 deaths have been registered since the start of the pandemic, which are linked to a coronavirus infection. The so-called seven-day incidence, i.e. the number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, was given in Italy on Monday at 142.6. In Germany, this value was recently a little over 90 – but easing is not (yet) in sight in this country.
wa / se (afp, kna)
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