As the number of coronavirus infections continues to surge in Italy and across Europe, the Italian government has approved tighter restrictions amid at controlling the spread under a new decree announced on Thursday, December 23rd,.

The decree has brought back the obligation to wear masks outdoors, temporarily banned public events, and will also shorten the validity of Italy’s ‘green pass’ Covid health certificate.

But there was some initial confusion about the changes, as the government did not immediately state when the rule changes would come into force or how long they would remain in place for.

The start and end dates, along with many other details of the new measures, were confirmed in the government’s final decree text published on Friday, December 24th (see the full text here in Italian) or by officials in the following days.

Some of the changes are already effective as of Saturday, December 25th, while others are set to come in during January and February.

When does the new decree come into force?

The decree itself became law on Saturday, December 25th and remains valid until at least March 31st – the current deadline for Italy’s state of emergency.

However, some of the measures it contains are in force for a shorter period – either until the end of January, or just for the remainder of the festive period. Others begin in January or February and remain valid until the end of March.

Here’s a look at when each rule change comes into force, and for how long.

From December 25th:

Most of the new rules came in from Christmas Day – though not all will remain in place for long.

Firstly, restrictions on public events were put in place over the festive period only, until New Year.

Outdoor public events and parties are banned during the festive season, from December 25th to December 31st, after many local authorities had already chosen to cancel Christmas and New Year’s Eve events in towns and cities across the country.

Read more
https://www.thelocal.it/20211227/calendar-when-do-italys-covid-19-rules-change/