Italy Rome enforces outdoor mask mandate amid Omicron spread

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Rome, Italy, has decided to mandate outdoor mask-wearing starting from the 23rd (local time).

According to ANSA news agency on the 21st, Nicola Zingaretti, governor of Lazio Province in central Italy, where Rome is located, signed an administrative order with this content the previous night.

The city of Rome had mandated outdoor mask-wearing only in the busy downtown area with heavy foot traffic since the 6th, but from the 23rd, this will be expanded to the entire city.

The enforcement period is until the 23rd of next month. There is a possibility of extension depending on the situation.

The Italian government lifted the nationwide outdoor mask mandate in June when the COVID-19 situation improved.

However, as the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads, there is a trend to reimpose outdoor mask mandates regionally.

Besides Lazio, Veneto, Liguria, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Calabria, and Trentino-Alto Adige have already implemented outdoor mask mandates.

The Lazio administrative order also includes a requirement for health and medical workers to submit a negative test certificate every ten days.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will hold a quarantine meeting attended by all ministers on the 23rd to discuss additional regulatory measures targeting the year-end and Christmas season.

Meanwhile, as of the 20th, Italy recorded 16,213 new daily COVID-19 cases and 137 deaths.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.