Italy opens its borders to EU citizens

Many Italians have longed for this day: they can travel freely in the country again, the borders are open for European vacationers. But normality still looks different.

Rome (dpa) - After around three months with strict corona restrictions, Italy's borders are open to holidaymakers again. Since Wednesday (June 3), freedom of travel applies to people from the other 26 EU countries as well as other countries such as Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland.

A virus quarantine of two weeks is no longer necessary. In addition, the Italians themselves are free to travel back and forth between the 20 regions.

Leaving one's own region had been severely restricted for a long time. So far, for example, people from Rome have only been able to travel to Tuscany exceptionally. They then had to have a written self-declaration ready for their important reasons. Foreigners were also only allowed to enter the country during the Corona barriers, for example because of work.

The new easing had been eagerly awaited by many of the 60 million citizens. You can now visit relatives and friends who live further away. However, some politicians and experts expressed concerns that this could result in more infections.

The regions in Italy are affected to different extents: in Lombardy in the north, where the virus has raged the most, the authorities counted a good 20,000 people who were currently infected on Tuesday, in Umbria only 31, in Basilicata 24 and in Aosta Valley 13 cases. Some regional presidents would have liked to delay the travel approval for Lombardy a bit.

Italy was hit early and with full force by the Corona pandemic in Europe. So far, around 33,530 people have died there or with Covid-19 disease since February. On March 10, the government in Rome imposed severe exit and travel restrictions. These rules were relaxed in several steps. In mid-May, Rome announced the release of travel. The contagion numbers have dropped sharply - most recently they were below the values ​​in Germany.

The opening of the borders for European tourists and the freedom of movement within Italy are further steps towards normalcy. The schools are said to remain closed until September. In addition, contact restrictions and hygiene regulations apply. The mask requirement is regulated in different regions.

Italy is heavily wooing tourists in Germany. The holiday industry there complains of billions in losses. According to the government, tourism contributes around 15 percent to economic output. However, many airlines do not fly to the country as regularly as before. In Germany there is also a warning for all unnecessary tourist trips. According to previous considerations, this could end on June 15.

AA to travel to Italy