Italian authorities announced on Monday that the country will lift all entry requirements by June 1.
This was announced by the Italian Ministry of Health. The ministry said the current requirement to present a COVID passport upon arrival in Italy will not be extended when it expires on May 31, reports SchengenVisaInfo.com.
“From June 1 Stop Green Pass for entry into Italy. The decree of the Minister of Health, which provides for the Green Certification Covid-19 (Green Pass) for entry into Italy, expires on May 31st. The measure will not be extended.” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the minister, from June 1, all travelers, regardless of their country of origin, will no longer be required to have valid vaccination, recovery or test certificates when entering Italy.
This means that as soon as the new measure comes into force, everyone will be allowed unrestricted entry.
Italy is one of the EU countries that has maintained some of the toughest restrictions due to the high infection rates it registered in the early stages of the pandemic.
Previously, all travelers had to present a vaccination certificate proving that the holder had had a basic vaccination or a booster vaccination in the last nine months. Italy also accepted certificates of recovery showing the holder has recovered from COVID within the past nine months, as well as accepted COVID-19 test results.
However, with the summer travel season just around the corner and most other EU/EEA countries lifting their entry requirements, Italy has decided to do the same.
Furthermore, the Italian authorities’ decision to lift their COVID-19 entry requirements is believed to follow low infection rates as well as high vaccination rates.
The latest data from the World Health Organization shows that Italy has registered 141,325 new cases of coronavirus infection in the past seven days.
In terms of vaccination rates, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control states that Italy has administered a total of 136,206,350 COVID-19 vaccine doses as of May 19. 87.4 percent of the total adult population have completed primary vaccination and a further 77.3 percent have received a booster dose.
In addition to Italy, 19 other EU/EEA countries have already lifted all restrictions. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland have all lifted their rules so far. All travelers will be allowed unrestricted entry into these countries.
