Italy plans to lift quarantine restrictions for some travelers from mid-May

MILAN — Italy plans to lift quarantine restrictions for travelers arriving from European countries, Britain and Israel as early as mid-May in a bid to revive the tourism industry, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Saturday.

Quarantine requirements may be scrapped for those arriving from the United States from June, Mr. Di Maio said, after meeting Health Minister Roberto Speranza to discuss the easing of restrictions for countries where vaccination levels are high.

“We are working to lift the ‘mini-quarantine’ for people coming from European countries, the UK and Israel, if they have a negative swab, proof of vaccination or have recovered from COVID within the last 6 months. Same thing for the US,” he wrote in a post on Facebook.

People entering Italy from other European countries and Israel currently face five days of quarantine and mandatory testing both before arrival and at the end of their isolation period. For travelers arriving from the United States the required quarantine period is 10 days.

Italy has registered 122,694 deaths linked to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since the outbreak began last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.1 million cases to date. — Reuters