The world is slowly starting to come out of the cloud of the pandemic and are opening borders. Italy is one of the countries that has decided that it is once again open for business and tourists alike that are looking to come while Covid-19 is still an issue.
The critical numbers are falling at an alarming rate due to the vaccinations and general tendency for a virus to lose its effect as it spreads. In other words, there are more and more immune people that are causing the virus to finally subside.
If you are going to be traveling to Italy for business, it doesn’t mean that things are just like before the pandemic. While travel is allowed, there are a number of restrictions to take into account before you book your trip.
In this article, we will go over what it takes to travel safely into Italy for business in 2021.
Use good sense
Before we get into the logistics of what it takes to travel to Italy, we will remind you to use good sense. While contagions are dropping, there is still a risk of getting sick., even if you are vaccinated there needs to be some common sense used when traveling and even after you’ve reached your destination.
You’ll still need to wear a mask and keep yourself socially distanced from other people. Avoid crowds whether inside or out as this is how the virus is able to spread. As you go about your business day, make sure to keep these rules in mind as well as washing hands regularly.
Try to limit your trips on public transportation like buses and trains. Taxis are also a good idea to avoid, so look into renting a car while there if you need to travel around.
Because there is a risk that you could get sick from Covid-19 while traveling, you need to set yourself up with the best travel insurance. Even aside from the medical or health standpoint, having travel insurance right now is a good idea since things can change quickly with flights being canceled.
Take a Covid tested airline
North Americans are required to quarantine in their hotel upon arriving in Italy for 10 days. Unless you take a so-called Covid-19 tested flight. This involves a series of tests and certificates to make sure that everybody on the flight is safe and not positive.
To begin with, if you are vaccinated you will need to have the certificate that you have had both of your doses of vaccine if that was required. And the vaccine itself has to be one that was approved by the Italian government and recognized.
Even with the certificate, you will need to go through a series of Covid-19 tests. One will need to be performed within 48 hours of the day of your flight with a negative result. Then, there will be another one that happens just before boarding the plane. The second one will be a rapid test so you will have your results before boarding time is announced. Once again, you will need to have a negative result.
Once you’ve landed in Italy, you will be required to take yet another test. When you go to the testing facility you will be asked to hand over your passport and will get it back once the test is complete and you show a negative result. At this point, you are free to leave the airport and carry on as normal.
What to expect once in italy
The Italian government is taking a regional approach to handling the pandemic. There is a color coded system that determines what restrictions will be in place in each region. The red zone has the most severe restrictions and white zone has the fewest.
You’ll need to pay close attention to the color of the region in which you will be staying and also in any region where you may need to travel. Traveling from a red zone to an orange or yellow zone is not permitted. However, at the time of the writing of this article, there were no regions in the red zone.
In many regions, dining at a restaurant is now allowed but only with a limited capacity and often requiring a reservation. If you happen to be invited to a wedding there, then you will need to have a “Green Pass” or have a negative result from a test within two days of the event.
Conclusion
Though things are looking up with regards to the situation all over the world, things can change quickly. There are variants circulating that are causing some concern among the experts so expect the unexpected and keep following whatever rules are in place at the time.
