‘Very serious’ Italy bans unvaccinated tourists indoors as Europe reacts to Omicron

Travel: Simon Calder tells holidaymakers ‘don’t do anything hasty’

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Italy will introduce a super green pass from December 6 which will require people to be vaccinated or to have recovered from Covid. It will eliminate the option to take a negative test to enter venues.

Residents and tourists will need the ‘super green pass’ to enter cinemas, theatres, gyms and nightclubs.

Ski holidays will also be impacted by the legislation as people will need the super green pass for ski lifts.

The pass will also be required to be served indoors at bars and restaurants and stadiums in Italy.

Italy’s Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, said: “We want to be very careful and also to preserve what we have achieved this year, to preserve this normality.”

Draghi said the super green pass was a necessary move to mitigate the risk of coronavirus infections surging.

He added: “Outside of Italy the situation is very serious, while ours is steadily worsening.”

Currently, fully vaccinated tourists can enter Italy without needing to self-isolate but must show a negative PCR or antigen test, taken within the last 48 hours.

Unvaccinated travellers can visit Italy but they will need to self-isolate for five days, provide a negative test result and travel to their destination by private vehicle.

Unvaccinated Britons will also need to notify the Prevention Department of the local health authority of their arrival.

Every British tourist must also fill in the passenger locator form before entering Italy to show their travel provider and Border Police.

The Omicron variant was first identified in South Africa but it is not known where it originated.

The UK, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Belgium are among the countries to record Omicron cases.

Scientists expect that the Omicron variant will be able to spread much more quickly but it is not known whether it will cause more serious infections.

Switzerland has introduced a 10 day quarantine for UK travellers which is likely to ruin many British tourists’ ski holidays.

From December 1, Spain will only allow vaccinated British tourists to enter the country. The rules apply to every Briton over the age of 12.

Portugal will require every tourist, including vaccinated people, to provide a negative test result to enter. It will introduce the rule from December 1.

The UK has placed a ban on travel to and from 10 African countries, including Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia.

British travellers will need to take a day two PCR test from 4am on Tuesday November 30.

They must self-isolate at home until they receive a negative COVID-19 test result.

British tourists are advised to check the UK Government website before travelling as restrictions can change rapidly.

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