In today’s Corriere della Sera, it seems like there’s a report that Italy will lift the entry testing requirement for non-European travelers in March. There’s a subscription firewall to the rest of the article and my translation may be limited, but here is the link:
Scroll down to the article. I wonder if someone could check this out to see if the good news is for real. 🙂
This was posted yesterday and I’ve seen rumors of earlier change
March 15
So I’m guessing it’s happening soon
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/italy-travel-protocols-may-be-relaxed-soon
Foreigners arriving in Italy will no longer have to swab. Health
Minister Roberto Speranza signed a new ordinance which provides,
“starting from 1 March, for arrivals from all non-European countries
the same rules already in force for European countries. One of the
conditions of the green pass will be sufficient for entry into the
national territory: vaccination certificate, recovery certificate or
negative test ". The test The swab will be necessary for unvaccinated
tourists and for those who have been vaccinated with drugs not yet
recognized by EMA, such as Sputnik. Easter vacation It is the turning
point that the world of tourism has been waiting for for days.
Foreigners who want to come to Italy already for the Easter holidays
(April 17) will no longer have to deal with the complexity of the
rules imposed by the Covid epidemic. The Minister of Health files the
lists of the countries of origin and chooses to focus on the
vaccination status of those who cross our borders. The move that
Roberto Speranza had been working on for days in line with the other
EU ministers is a "strong message". The measure was taken to encourage
tourism as part of the reopening process announced by Prime Minister
Mario Draghi: gradually but also decisively, to encourage the return
to normalcy and economic growth. With the new ordinance signed by
Minister Speranza, the vaccination status of each one counts and not
the country of origin and this is because, due to the Omicron variant,
the epidemic changes too quickly.
It says “no swab” for the fully vaccinated as of March 1, as far as I can tell.
Edit: ChristineH was posting at the same time, with the full translation.
Excellent news! We are scheduled to fly to ItLy on March 5, and I have been stressed over the timing and best choice for the covid test. It will be nice if we don’t have to worry about that.
Now if only the US would let us back in without testing! That will take a ton of stress off also.
So it’s official since it’s signed? I wonder how long it will take for the airlines to post this in their websites.
I wouldn’t expect US to reciprocate anytime soon and TBH other than the slight risk of testing positive it is much much easier and cheaper to get tested in Italy for return.
Christine, I agree with what you about the reciprocation issue and yes, it seems soooooo much easier and cheaper to test in Italy for the return trip. Just wondering why you think our country is unlikely to flip on this? I feel the same way but can't really offer an explanation as to why -- more or less a gut feeling.
Just a gut feeling as well
Makes no sense either but it is what it is
Another source for the same report:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/italy-lifts-covid-19-quarantine-153937581.html
So assuming this is true, we don’t have to get the test 72 hours before landing in Italy? We can just show up at the airport with our passport, vaccine card and EUplf?
Will airlines let you on a plane without a test though? (for vaccinated travellers that is).
I believe the airlines are just enforcing the rules of the destination, so if Europe doesn't require it, then the airline shouldn't? For domestic travel there is no vaccination or test requirement.
KRS
That is correct but you should have all those docs uploaded to your airline ahead of time as well as carrying paper copies and I’d have easily accessed docs or photos of docs on my cellphone
Which airline are you flying?
United (for example) has a Travel Ready section that walks you thru all that preflight stuff
Sign in to your airline account and follow their instructions
The article refers to no quarantine anymore but what are they referring to? For unvaccinated who can now arrive with a negative test and no longer have to quarantine? For anyone who gets a positive test result at anytime?
A couple of additional links for further information:
https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/italy-relax-covid-travel-rules-non-eu-1-march.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/italy-exit-covid-state-emergency-165538457.html
What if your vaccination was completed a year ago, and not less than 270 days, as outlined on the US Embassy Website specific to Italy travel?
And added to above...we have not had our booster shots and we fly there March 13th.
You need to get the booster
Agree, just go get your booster tomorrow. Is there are reason why you won’t?
I am currently in Rome. When I am asked for my CDC card (the Super Green Pass equivalent) in order to enter places, they always check for all three vaccinations. Not every place asks, though.
