JAKARTA - Italy has tightened restrictions to curb a spike in COVID-19 infections, including banning all public New Year's Eve celebrations, when daily COVID-19 infection cases hit a record high, the government said on Thursday.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza said wearing masks would become mandatory again outdoors, ordering people to use the more protective Ffp2 face masks on public transport and in public places, such as theaters, cinemas as well as at sporting events.
In addition, concerts and outdoor events will be banned until January 31. Discotheques and dance clubs will also have to close by that date, in a bid to prevent mass socialization during the holiday period, citing Reuters 24 December.
The announcement came on a day Italy recorded a record 44,595 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of more than 70 percent in just a week, with the infectious Omicron variant starting to spread across the country.
Deaths have also begun to creep up, rising to 168 on Thursday, the largest number since May, but they remain well below levels seen during the previous spike in infections, mainly thanks to the large number of people being vaccinated in Italy.
Speranza said nearly 89 percent of Italians had been vaccinated, but the government wanted to expedite the delivery of the third booster shot, considered the most effective shield against the Omicron variant that is hitting Europe and the United States.
Separately, the government will cut the waiting time for boosters after the second vaccination to four months from five months.
In addition, the ministers agreed to reduce the validity of COVID-19 health certificates, which are required to access various places and services, due to the fact that the effectiveness of vaccines fades over time.
As a result, from February 1 the certificate, which registers if a person has been vaccinated or has recently recovered from the coronavirus, will only be valid for six months instead of the current nine months.
To note, Italy was the first Western country to be hit by a pandemic last year. So far, Italy has recorded 136,245 deaths, the second highest tally in Europe after the UK.
However, the vaccination campaign has proven to be one of the most effective in the world and the government has said it is determined to avoid a return to general lockdown.
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