Italy has imposed strict rules for US travellers, following the European Union Council’s decision to remove the US from its list of epidemiologically safe countries.
Italy, being the first country to follow suit from the EU, now obliges all US travellers and those who have stayed there in the past 14 days to provide a PCR or antigen test result taken within 72 hours before reaching Italy and complete the digital passenger locator form, regardless of their vaccination status, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In addition, unvaccinated travellers must undergo a quarantine requirement for five days upon arrival and perform another test by the end of the self-isolation period. Children under the age of six are exempted from the testing requirement.
According to the US Embassy information, tests costs in Italy vary from $25 (€21.1) for antigen tests and $75 (€63.45) for PCR tests.
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However, Italian authorities have imposed the same entry restrictions for travellers arriving from Japan, Canada and Israel, as the countries are experiencing a surge in Coronavirus infections recently.
“Entry from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is allowed, regardless of nationality, only for study reasons or to return to one’s personal place of residence and also in cases expressly authorised by the Ministry of Health,” the official notice published on August 30 reads.
For arrivals from these countries, a test performed within 72 hours before arriving in the country, a test on arrival at the airport, a ten-day self-isolation and a test at the end of the quarantine period are required. The same applies to arrivals from Brazil.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United States has reported 632,983 positive cases with Coronavirus in the past 24 hours, followed by Canada with 26,890, Japan with 15,994, and Israel 7,043 confirmed cases.
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Except for Italy, other countries imposing tighter restrictions for US travellers are Belgium and Germany, which had placed the restrictions before the EU’s recommendation but not Croatia, which continues to allow American travellers to enter the country despite the EU’s advice and the country’s increasing infection rates.
However, while the Italian authorities are imposing more stringent measures for international travellers, the country is also obliging its travellers to provide the Green Pass when boarding on planes, travelling by ferries and busses, starting from today, September 1.
The document is an equivalent of the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate, which is issued to all of those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, had a previous infection with Coronavirus and have tested negative for the virus recently. In addition, the document has been established by the EU in a bid to facilitate safe travel across the continent amid the pandemic.
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As per Italy’s epidemiological situation, the country has reported 53 deaths and 4,253 positive cases with the virus in the past 24 hours, as the WHO reveals. Since January 2020, 129,146 deaths caused by Coronavirus were reported in Italy, and 4,534,499 people were infected with the disease.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) shows that Italy has fully vaccinated 69.2 per cent of its population, whereas 79.8 per cent has been inoculated with at least the first shot.