(ANSA) - ROME, APR 26 - COVID-19 restrictions have been eased in most of Italy with the reintroduction of moderate-risk yellow zones into the nation's tiered system of coronavirus-prevention measures on Monday.
Regions had only been classed as high-risk red zones or medium-high-risk orange zones.
Abruzzo, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Molise, Marche, Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto and the autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento have become yellow zones where. among other things, restaurants are able to serve people at outdoor tables, rather than being limited to takeaways and home deliveries..
Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, Puglia and Valle d'Aosta are orange zones, where restaurants and bars can only do takeaways and home deliveries.
Sardinia, meanwhile, is the only red zone.
In red zones people need a good reason to be out and about and all shops selling non-essential items are closed.
A ban on movement between regions has been scrapped.
People can move freely between yellow zones and obtain a 'green pass' for travel involving orange and red zones.
The pass is valid for six months for people who have had COVID or have been vaccinated and for 48 hours for people who have not, but have tested negative for the coronavirus.
Theatres, museums and cinemas can reopen in yellow zones and open-air concerts and other show are allowed too.
It is necessary to book and venues cannot go beyond 50% of capacity.
The absolute limit is 500 for an indoor venues and 1,000 outdoors.
Restaurants can serve people at outdoor tables at lunch and dinner in yellow zones.
But restaurants that do not have outdoor spaces will have to wait until June 1 to serve people at tables again and then only at lunchtime.
It is also now possible to do team sports, including contact ones such as soccer, but it is not possible to use the changing rooms at sports centres.
A row within Premier Mario Draghi's broad coalition government about the nationwide night-time curfew continues to rumble on though.
The curfew, which kicks in at 10pm and aims to stop night-time get-togethers leading to COVID contagion, remains in place for now.
But Matteo Salvini's League is campaign to have the curfew removed or shifted to later on, saying there is no point reopening cinemas, restaurants and theatres if people have to be home by 10pm..
Enrico Letta, the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, has criticised this stance, saying the League cannot be part of the coalition and then go against government policy. (ANSA).
Most of Italy 'reopens'
Majority of regions become yellow zones, curfew row rumbles on