Florence: staffing shortages temporarily closes the Duomo

Also discussions to reduce the quarantine time from 10 days to 5 days. Curious if this will impact folks flying out of the country that may test positive.

You mean people flying out of the US or out of Italy? In either case, if you are still testing positive after a prescribed quarantine period, you're not going to be allowed to board a plane. Am I misunderstanding what you meant?

"In either case, if you are still testing positive after a prescribed quarantine period, you're not going to be allowed to board a plane."

At least on a return to the US the CDC says you can also get a statement from a health care provider saying you have recovered from Covid. There is a chance you might still test positive for up to 90 days after infection.

"If you recently recovered from COVID-19, you may instead travel with documentation of recovery from COVID-19 (i.e., your positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before the flight’s departure from a foreign country and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official stating that you were cleared to travel)."

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

Ah. Thanks for that, Pam. It still sounds a little iffy - what does "recovered" mean, exactly? - but there seems to be a LOT of iffy running around lately!

I agree, lol, LOTS of iffy!

For another forum member in France, her health care provider was willing to write a letter saying she was recovered on Day 11 after her 10 days isolation. She was symptom free then. Although you can still have loss of taste or smell and be counted as symptom free.

As seen in those poor folks with long covid, “recovery” - meaning back to normal - can take months.

I guess the CDC is really looking for “no longer contagious “.

Kathy - the Italian government is considering the same rules the CDC adopted yesterday.

France, too, is considering or has shortened the isolation period but only for medical staff. Studies have shown that vaccinated, non-symptomatic or no longer symptomatic people are good to go.

Yep, I saw something to that effect, Kevin. From The Local:

"Quarantine will no longer be required for those who had contact with a positive case if they have had a booster dose, or were vaccinated or have recovered within the last 120 days, according to a government statement released on Wednesday night."

https://www.thelocal.it/20211230/italy-announces-new-covid-quarantine-and-green-pass-rules-as-cases-surge/

https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2021/12/30/quarantine-scrapped-for-triple-jabbed-super-pass-on-buses_c52357eb-a0e6-4ae4-be56-fddb3a2c54b6.html

It seems to be specific only to people who have come into contact with a positive case and not the person testing positive themselves but will dig for more specifics. Or, maybe one of our Italian posters might translate the entire decree?
(Edited)

Just to add, the Duomo's website today states that the cathedral is still closed.

More than 1% of the entire Italian population has tested positive in the last week. Throw in exposures and likely positives that aren't testing, and you can understand why these places have to close. It's terrible.

Hmmm. While the front page of Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore's website states the church's temporary closure, the dedicated page for today's visiting hours does not so either one or the other has not been updated.

But as I'd posted above, the other parts of the complex (bell tower, baptistry, museum, etc. ) have not been shuttered outside of their usual closure days. Or so far, anyway. It appears they have enough staff to keep those parts open.