Italy accelerates its progressive advance towards the new normal. From this Monday, two out of every three Italians will be in the white zone, a category that implies eliminating almost all restrictions against the virus. The measure applies to most of the country, where 40.5 million people live, and in practice it translates into the abolition of the curfew, which until now was set at 23.00 or 00.00, depending on the data. from each region; also in the disappearance of the limitations in the number of diners in the terraces of the restaurants, where until now only a maximum of 4 people could share a table. The restaurants may open without time limits in these areas and for indoor drinks, the maximum number of diners is extended to 6. And they also reopen indoor swimming pools, spas, fairs, congresses,cultural centers, theme and amusement parks and bingo halls. It is expected that next week 95% of the country will be able to enjoy these conditions.
The discos, which have been closed for about 15 months, and the nightlife venues, are reopening, although dancing inside will continue to be prohibited. You can only listen to music and consume food or drink. This modality has not liked in the sector of the leisure of the night, that has redoubled in the last weeks the pressure on the Government to reopen completely. The question of allowing dances, at least in the open air, continues on the table and is the reason for the constant tug of war between businessmen in this field and the Executive. One of the hypotheses being considered in the negotiations is that the health passport can also be used to access the dance floors of discos and bars at night. It was recently proposed by the association that represents entertainment companies in Italy for the summer season.The Executive has already approved that this safe-conduct, which certifies that the carrier has either received the vaccine or has recently overcome the infection or has carried out a coronavirus test with a negative result in recent days, is used to access celebrations such as weddings and other similar events.
In white areas, the prohibition of creating crowds and the obligation to maintain interpersonal distance and to always use the mask in closed places and outdoors when the safety distance cannot be guaranteed is maintained.
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The Executive's decision is part of the gradual reopening plan and responds to the criteria that the country has been using for months to establish restrictions and which consists of a kind of traffic light that regulates the seriousness of the situation. Red, orange and yellow have so far marked the impact of the pandemic and the limitations that each area must follow. White was introduced as a sign of optimism and with caution last March, but only Sardinia could enjoy it, although the experiment failed in just three weeks and just over a month after the almost total reopening the island became a red zone.
On this occasion, the target extends to more than a dozen regions, including Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Apulia, Abruzzo, Liguria, Umbria, Veneto, Molise, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Sardinia, which already They have been with almost no restrictions for a week.
Other regions such as Tuscany, Calabria, Campania or Sicily will continue in the yellow zone.
A street in Rome lined with terraces on June 7, 2021, when the curfew was postponed until midnight.
RICCARDO ANTIMIAN / EFE
In the last week, all regions of the country have had an incidence of new cases below the threshold of 50 infections per week per 100,000 inhabitants, -the national average is 26 cases per 100,000 inhabitants- but to be able to pass The white area requires that the data be kept for three consecutive weeks.
Therefore, if this trend is confirmed next week, practically the entire country would be left with hardly any restrictions, except for the Aosta Valley, in the north, which had worse data the previous week.
On Sunday, June 13, the country registered 1,390 new cases and 26 deaths, data down compared to Saturday, although in general, fewer detection tests are carried out during the weekend.
In total, since the start of the pandemic, Italy has recorded 4,244,872 infections and 127,002 deaths.
Hospital pressure also continues to drop in the transalpine country and there are currently 565 patients in intensive care units, compared to 774 on Saturday and 3,542 hospitalized patients compared to 3,655 the day before.
On June 3, Italy began to vaccinate without age restrictions, although in practice each region decides when to put this system into operation and not all have started yet.
In total, the country has provided more than 41 million injections, and almost 14 million people have received the complete immunization cycle, representing 25% of the population over 12 years of age.