EU residents travelling to Italy will have to present a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival in the country, while unvaccinated visitors will also be required to self-quarantine.
The announcement was made following a meeting of the Italian Council of Ministers on Tuesday and comes into effect on Thursday 16^th December.
It means that even vaccinated visitors must show proof of a negative test, and the non-vaccinated must self-isolate for five days on arrival. The new rules will last until 31^st January 2022.
It is unclear how they will be enforced for road travel into the country.
A senior EU official acknowledged that Italy’s actions undercut the objectives of the digital Covid certificate introduced to facilitate travel inside the bloc.
“These individual decisions of the states will decrease the trust of the people that there will be equal conditions everywhere in Europe,” EU Vice President for Values Vera Jourova told reporters on Tuesday evening, adding the move will be discussed when EU leaders meet on Thursday.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will also extend the government’s State of Emergency until 31^st March 2022, which was due to expire at the end of this month.
The obligation to carry a ‘Super Green Pass’ in white zones has also been extended until 31st March, preventing the non-vaccinated in Italy from attending areas including indoor restaurants, cinemas, discos and stadiums.
Data by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that Italy has recorded a total of 119,645 new cases in the last seven days and 642 deaths. The country has already recorded 27 cases of the new Omicron variant.
As of 14th December, the total number of Omicron cases detected in EU and EEA countries is 2,127.