L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020 L'Italo-Americano O n the first of July, the EU t o o k y e t another step towards "nor- mality," opening up its borders to 15 countries o u t s i d e o f t h e U n i o n , without enforcing any qua- rantine procedure. Traveling among states member had already begun in early June, allowing Europeans to plan their Old Continent-based vacations with a tad more tranquillity. Of course Italy, too, agreed with Bruxelles' decision and we've been hap- pily noticing some foreign accents around our streets. A nod towards our pre-Covid l i v e s , a s o u n d o f h o p e , b e c a u s e r e m i n i s c e n t o f a t i m e w h e n i n f e c t i o n w a s unknown and we didn't fear e a c h o t h e r a s m u c h a s today. I l B e l p a e s e , h o w e v e r , decided not to join the rest of the Union, opting for a high- s e c u r i t y a p p r o a c h t h a t wants all non-EU travelers c o m i n g f r o m t h e a l l o w e d countries to be tested and to spend a quarantine period in selected, controlled locations before carrying on with their trip. The EU choice As of now, travelers from 15 extra-EU/Schengen coun- tries are free to travel into t h e U n i o n : A l g e r i a , Australia, Canada, Georgia, J a p a n , M o n t e n e g r o , M o r o c c o , N e w Z e a l a n d , R w a n d a , S e r b i a , S o u t h Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and China. Visitors from the latter, however, will be allowed in only if "reci- procity" takes place, that is, if China allows EU travelers in. After an evaluation of the c u r r e n t e p i d e m i o l o g i c a l situation of these countries, EU experts decided it was safe to welcome their citi- zens, without imposing any form of restriction. Small, independent states that are neither part of the EU nor Schengen, but are g e o g r a p h i c a l l y l o c a t e d within Europe — think of Monaco, the Vatican, San Marino — are treated as part of the Union, which means their citizens are free to tra- vel, too. P e o p l e f r o m t h e U S A , Brazil, India, Russia, Turkey and Israel will still have to wait to come see us, as EU e x p e r t s c o n s i d e r e d t h e i r epidemiological situation still too dangerous. The list is scheduled to be adjourned every 14 days. The reasons behind the decision As mentioned, the deci- sion was informed by strict epidemiological data and by the type of virus contain- ment measures implemen- ted in each country. More specifically, the number of Covid-19 cases registered in the previous 14 days every 100.000 people should be near or below EU average, a n d t h e t r e n d s h o u l d b e either stable or decreasing. Another important factor considered is a country's national answer to the emer- gency, including tests num- bers, surveillance, contact traceability, infection con- tainment and the reliability and quality of information. Last but not least, recipro- city should be present: you c a n c o m e v i s i t E u r o p e , i f Europe can come visit you. T h e s e r e g u l a t i o n s a r e e f f e c t i v e f o r a l l E U / S c h e n g e n c o u n t r i e s , which are nevertheless free to maintain stricter border control if they wish to do so, but cannot allow in people coming from banned areas. Italy's choice This is exactly the choice I t a l y m a d e . M i n i s t e r f o r health Roberto Speranza declared that "quarantine will remain into place for all c o u n t r i e s o u t s i d e o f t h e Schengen area" even if they are part of the EU approved list. This means that, even if you come from one of the 15 EU-vetted countries, you'll be able to enter Italy only after spending 14 days in quarantine. Moreover, you'll be allowed in exclusively for family or professional rea- sons. So, no tourists. This may seem excessive to some but Speranza himself explai- n e d h o w , b e c a u s e o f t h e extreme complexity of the global situation, caution is necessary lest the sacrifices made by Italians in the past months are nullified. Coldiretti, Italy's largest representative of agricultural businesses and workers, sta- ted the choice will cause the loss of about 1.4 million tou- rists coming from the US and 400.000 from Russia alone. Not having you guys around will not only be bad for our morale, but also for our tourism industry, if it's true that last year American visitors spent around 1.8 bil- lion euro in Italy, 29% of all expenditures made by peo- ple visiting from outside the EU. There is more, Coldiretti continues. Our US friends l o v e g o o d f o o d a n d o f t e n seek back home the same quality and taste they disco- vered when visiting us in I t a l y : w i t h l e s s p e o p l e coming over, then, even food and wine exports could suf- fer. The Government is also considering the implementa- t i o n o f h o t e l a n d r e s o r t checks on tourists, with the aim of closely monitoring potential risks. And so, it looks like it will be another while before we can see each other in person. Yet, it's a sacrifice we must endure with a smile on our face: we're doing it for our own health, and for that of our parents, grandparents and friends, on both sides of the Atlantic. And we have plenty of ways to keep in touch, including our pages which, now even more, offer a much needed window on t h e B e l p a e s e . J u s t t h i n k y o u ' r e h a v i n g a c a f f é somewhere in Italy, every time you read us. Since the 1st of July, travelers from some extra European countries are allowed to visit Italy. Social distancing and mask wearing remain a must (Photo: Dreamstime) New travel rules in Italy stricter than those imposed by the EU GIULIA FRANCESCHINI LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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