Italy Plans to Reopen to Travelers on June 3--but Not to Americans

[Celerity]

The Italian government will lift quarantine restrictions and reopen its borders after a lengthy coronavirus lockdown, but only to its European neighbors.

https://www.afar.com/magazine/is-italy-reopening-and-when-will-i-be-able-to-visit



On Saturday, May 16, Italy’s government announced that it would open its borders in early June, ending one of Europe’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns. It hopes to revive the country’s tourism industry, which contributes some 13 percent of gross domestic product. Starting June 3, the government will eliminate the 14-day quarantine for people arriving from abroad and will open both regional and international borders.

But before you start celebrating, these new regulations don’t apply to residents of the United States. According to the government decree, these new rules only apply to people arriving from member countries of the European Union, countries within the Schengen Zone, as well as the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, and the microstates and principalities of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican.

The government decree also says those who test positive for COVID-19 or have had close contact with people with the virus will still be subjected to mandatory quarantine measures. (Officials did not provide details on how exactly they would be checking or confirming travelers’ contacts.) As coronavirus cases continue to fall within Italy, the government also retains the right to institute “more restrictive measures” to and from certain regions in the event of worsening epidemiological data.

The earliest the European Commission is considering allowing nonessential travel into the European Union from outside member states is June 15, 2020. Since Italy went into lockdown in the second week of March, travel into the country and between its regions has been strictly limited. Airports and railway stations remained open only to allow those with proven work needs or other urgent or health-related reasons to travel with a form verifying their purpose. Italian citizens were also allowed to return home from abroad and foreign tourists could leave the country.

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