ROME (Reuters) – Italy on Tuesday extended a COVID-19 state of emergency to March 31, government officials said, amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The state of emergency, which was introduced in January last year, gives greater powers to the central government, making it easier for officials to bypass the bureaucracy that smothers much decision-making in Italy.
It was set to expire at the end of December.
The Health Ministry also ruled that from Dec. 16 to Jan. 31 all visitors to Italy from European Union countries must take a virus test before departure.
This requirement was already in force for many non-EU countries.
Those who have not been vaccinated must also undergo a quarantine of five days on arrival.
Italy’s daily coronavirus infections are rising steadily, with 20,677 new cases reported on Tuesday, and 120 deaths.
Pressure on hospitals remains less acute than in nearby countries such as Austria and Germany, where the rise in cases in the so-called “fourth wave” of the pandemic began earlier.
Italy has so far reported 27 confirmed Omicron variant cases, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said.
Italy has registered 135,049 deaths linked to COVID-19 since February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world. It has reported 5.26 million cases to date.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones and Grant McCool)
