In Italy, masks will no longer be mandatory

Italy, one of the European countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, will end the obligation to wear masks and masks outdoors from June 28, as announced by the Minister of Health.

“As of June 28, we put an end to the obligation to use a mask in the open air,” Roberto Speranza announced on his Facebook account, specifying that the decision would apply to regions classified as white zones, where the circulation of the virus is short. At present, the measure would apply to all of Italy except the Aosta Valley, in the north of the country.

The announcement comes after a favorable report from the Technical-Scientific Committee that advises the government on the pandemic. This team considered that masks and masks should no longer be mandatory in white areas, but that the population should always have some of these protections on hand in case of situations of high concentration of people.

Experts’ forecasts suggest that on June 28 all regions of Italy will be a white zone.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Italy, which has 60 million inhabitants, has registered 127,291 deaths and 4.25 million infections. At the moment, 30% of the population over 12 years of age is vaccinated, that is, about 16 million people.

The announcement comes days after the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, confirmed that the use of the mask will no longer be mandatory outdoors as of Saturday 26 throughout Spain, at a time when the health situation improves due to the pandemic.

The French have already gone out without a mask since last Thursday, June 17, but it must be kept indoors and in outdoor spaces where there are many people or in a stadium.