Italy Introduces New Covid-19 Measures as Ski Regions Go into Further Restrictions

9th January 2022

Last modified on January 12th, 2022

Italy is now in the grip in a surge of cases with new measures coming into force on Monday 10th January. The Aosta Valley and Abruzzo head into the Yellow Zone, joining Piedmont Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino. The Trentino region may soon become an Orange Zone.

Italy’s Covid restrictions change on Monday January 10th with an extension of its so-called ‘super green pass’ requirement to a range of additional venues and locations.

It includes ski lifts and applies to many settings in ski resorts.

The pass can only be obtained with certified vaccination or recovery, and not simply with a negative test result.

Italy is currently seeing 144,895 confirmed cases of Covid-19 per day.

Across a 7-day period there are 1,682 cases per 100,000 of population.

That figure is 2,420 in France and 1,465 in Switzerland.

It is 528 in Austria.

The UK is currently seeing 1,846.

Here are all the venues in Italy to which the ‘super green pass’ requirement will be added from Monday January 10th.

All restaurants and bars, for both indoor and outdoor dining, including in hotels.
All public transport, including local buses.
School buses serving children aged 12 and up.
Hotels.
Ski lifts.
All indoor and outdoor swimming pools, wellness centres, gyms and team sports facilities, including changing rooms.
All indoor and outdoor spas and thermal baths except for “essential rehabilitation or therapeutic treatments”.
Museums, exhibitions and cultural venues, including libraries.
Celebrations relating to religious or civil ceremonies.
Fairs, festivals, conventions and conferences.
Theme parks.
Indoor and outdoor cultural, social and recreational centres (excluding educational centres for children).
Games rooms, betting rooms, bingo halls and casinos.

Champolouc, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI

Already some ski provinces have moved from the ‘white zone’ to the ‘yellow zone’ including the main ski areas of the Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto.

Ski resorts remain open.

Trentino could move from ‘yellow’ into ‘orange’ later this month.

It is home to Madonna di Campiglio and dozens of other smaller ski areas.

Should Trentino become an ‘orange’ zone, this would effectively mean a lockdown for the unvaccinated, or those who are unable to prove they are recovered from Covid.

This would have little direct impact on holiday skiers from the UK as the unvaccinated or not recovered are required to quarantine.

Entry measures at the border have been tightened with spot testing for anyone entering the country for tourism, work or any other reason.

See the details for entry at the end of this article.

Turin airport. Image © PlanetSKI

Anyone who tests positive on arrival will be required to isolate for 10-days.

People who have no suitable accommodation may be required to stay in a ‘Covid hotel’ where they can be monitored by local health authorities.

The stay would be at the person’s own expense, with costs varying from region to region.

The Italian government has also recently passed a decree making make it mandatory for all over 50s to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

“We want to slow down the curve of contagion and encourage Italians who have not yet been vaccinated to do so,” said the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, in a statement.

“We are working in particular on the age groups that are most at risk of being hospitalised, to reduce pressure on hospital to save lives,” he added.

Austria has also decided to introduce compulsory vaccinations from next month.

France set to ease some border restrictions with the UK

Pre-departure test to come back to England scrapped

What may skiing look like for the rest of the season?

British skiers refused entry at Innsbruck airport

Entry rules from the UK to Italy as re-produced by the UK government:

If you travel from the UK and can demonstrate that you are fully vaccinated, you can enter Italy without needing to self-isolate.

In addition:

you must fill in the passenger locator form (EU PLF) before you enter Italy to get a QR code to show to your travel provider and Border Police. You can ask for paper form if you do not have an electronic device.
you must show evidence of a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours before entering Italy OR a negative antigen test taken within 24 hours before entering Italy.

If you are not fully vaccinated, to enter Italy from the UK you must:

fill in the passenger locator form (EU PLF) to get a QR code to show to your travel provider and Border Police. You can ask for paper form if you do not have an electronic device.
show evidence of a negative PCR or antigen test, taken within 48 hours before entering Italy
notify the Prevention Department of the local health authority of your entry into Italy.
remain in self-isolation for 5 days.
take another PCR or antigen test at the end of the 5 days’ self-isolation.

Children under 18 do not need to quarantine if they are travelling with a fully vaccinated parent and (for those over the age of 6) have a negative PCR or antigen test.

Children under the age of 6 are exempt from testing.

You can read more about the requirement to get a COVID-19 test on Italian Embassy in London’s COVID-19 update page.

Some Italian regions require you to register your arrival with the health authorities when you arrive from abroad.

You are strongly advised to consult the websites for the regions in which you are travelling for the latest information or to call the relevant regional hotline on arrival.

We do our very best at PlanetSKI to ensure the information provided here is as complete and up-to-date as possible. However, please be aware that we assume no liability in this respect. Information provided by PlanetSKI should be checked with the official information provided by the authorities. The situation regarding travel warnings and local rules changes quickly.