Italy Requires Test for People Coming from UK
8th October 2020
Last modified on May 14th, 2021
It has announced compulsory testing for anyone travelling from the UK and a number of other countries. Those that test positive will need to go into quarantine. UPDATED
A negative COVID test is now required when you arrive in Italy from the UK.
Italian authorities said it has made the move following the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the UK.
People will asked to show a negative test administered in the 72 hours before travel.
“You should not use the NHS testing service to get a test in order to facilitate your travel to another country. You should arrange a private test,” said the UK government in reaction to the news.
Alternatively, you can get a free test on arrival at some airports, or at a testing facility in Italy shortly after you arrive.
Turin airport. Photo credit – PlanetSKI
If you test positive within Italy, you will be required to quarantine.
The time spent in quarantine can vary greatly from a few days to several weeks.
“Travellers should be prepared for this eventuality,” added the UK government.
The same testing requirement is now in place for all people entering Italy from Spain, France, Greece, Croatia, Malta, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic.
There are already restrictions on entering some ski nations, and these are expected to increase as Covid-19 spreads in the UK.
Switzerland has imposed a quarantine on people entering from the UK.
People who have visited the UK in the past 10 days before arrival are required to quarantine for 10 days.
In Scandinavia, Norway has a similar 10-day quarantine period while in Finland people need to produce a negative test certificate from the previous 72-hours.
They then have to quarantine for 72-hours and take another test when the period ends.
The USA has a ban on entering, as does Canada though it has just introduced some exceptions.
One of our readers sums up the views of many with his comment on the PlanetSKI Facebook page.
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Italy has also now made it mandatory to wear face masks in outdoor spaces across the country as it sees a sharp rise in covid-19 cases.
Cervinia, Aosta Valley, Italy
Italians must also wear masks indoors everywhere except in private homes.
“From now on, masks and protective gear have to be brought with us when we leave our house and worn. We have to wear them all the time unless we are in a situation of continuous isolation,” said the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte.
Masks are compulsory in shops, offices, public transport, and in bars and restaurants when not seated at a table.
Aosta Valley, Italy. Photo credit – PlanetSKI
The measures have already been put in place in some parts of Italy that have seen an increase in infections, such as Rome, but the latest announcement makes them nationwide.
There had been predictions this week that Italy and Sweden would go on the UK’s quarantine list on Thursday, but this has proved not to be the case.
Will Italy and Sweden go on UK quarantine list this week?
In the past 24-hours covid-19 cases in Italy have passed the 3,000 mark for the first time since the end of April.
It had 3,678 new infections.
Elsewhere in European alpine nations Germany has reported a spike in daily infections with 4,058 cases.
It is highest daily number since the start of April.
In France Grenoble in the Alps is one of four French cities newly classified as maximum alert zones.
Lyon, which is a gateway to the Alps, is also on the list.
Bars and restaurants will have to close from Saturday 10th October, as they have already in Paris and Marseille.
France’s maximum alert level comes into force when the infection rate in a locality exceeds 250 infections per 100,000 people and at least 30% of intensive care beds are reserved for Covid-19 patients.
Toulouse at the foot of the Pyrenees is on a so-called watch-list as cases rise.
Sweden is seeing more cases in nursing homes with four outbreaks in the city of Uppsala alone.
Poland has reported a new daily record of 4,280 cases.
There are also increases is Slovakia.
The Czech Republic now has the highest number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 14-days in the EU, overtaking Spain.
Here at PlanetSKI we will be taking a detailed look at cases in the skiing countries of Europe and the various rules and regulations.
