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Situation in Italy :(

@BryanS Any news on when we will be able to travel to Italy? I’ve read that cases are high now, a 3rd wave.
I've been watching the daily reports from Susan Levenstein, a physician in Rome.
She is not optimistic as she says what is needed to level off cases is a full country lockdown not the random one they keep moving around from region to region. Of late the hospitalizations and deaths are climbing not leveling and are higher than the US. Vaccinations are not rolling out quickly enough to stem the cases, so she says. I have my fingers crossed so hard they are becoming numb! But still, I will book my late May trip and cancel if there is not enough change a few weeks before.....
 
But still, I will book my late May trip and cancel if there is not enough change a few weeks before.....
Don't get your hopes too high, late May does not look realistic, unfortunately. Only around ten percent of the Italian population has been vaccinated, and less than half of those with the full two doses. So re-opening of tourism will still take time.
I'm hoping to be able to take a spring trip in 2022. October would also be nice, but we're preferring to wait until things are almost completely stable.
 
Don't get your hopes too high, late May does not look realistic, unfortunately. Only around ten percent of the Italian population has been vaccinated, and less than half of those with the full two doses. So re-opening of tourism will still take time.
I'm hoping to be able to take a spring trip in 2022. October would also be nice, but we're preferring to wait until things are almost completely stable.
Have abandoned hope for May and getting very nervous about September. Won't cancel May trip until the last possible minute, but no realistic hope.
 
I have been told, Joe, that because I own property in Italy I am a little higher up on the list than a tourist, so I may use that card if I feel it's reasonably safe by the end of May. It's certainly a crap shoot at this moment, but we shall see. Change happens!
 
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Any news on when we will be able to travel to Italy? I’ve read that cases are high now, a 3rd wave.
As with most of mainland Europe, the # of cases is increasing. The new decrees are issued at the end of the week and there is talk of various options - complete nationwide lockdown, weekend lockdowns, etc.

Vaccine progress is an issue, in our region they have done 1st responders, medical staff, teachers and those over 80. The next group is determined each week based on number of available doses. This is a problem, the PM hopes to have all vaccinated by the end of the summer and Italy is to have a couple options in the next few months to produce vaccines (our own, or others). Many Italians blame the US and the UK for our supply issues.

Open for spring - I doubt it. Open for summer - I hope not based on the consequences from last summer until vaccination is more complete, but the economic pressures to open are great.
 
The new decrees are issued at the end of the week and there is talk of various options - complete nationwide lockdown, weekend lockdowns, etc.
The UK has been on lockdown since after Christmas. It has been endless! This weeks the kids went back to school and the rules changed so that we can go outside and sit on a bench! Previously we could only go outside once a day for exercise (keep moving!).

I have read that international travel will open up in May or June, but if Europe doesn't open up, we don't have anywhere to go. I booked a trip in May within the UK, to the Cotswolds.

Thanks for the update! I really hope it isn't true that the UK is responsible for Europe's vaccine supply issues, but it does seem likely.
 
I have been told, Joe, that because I own property in Italy I am a little higher up on the list than a tourist, so I may use that card if I feel it's reasonably safe by the end of May.
I posted in another thread that Frances Mayes posted on Instagram that she and Ed have gone to Italy and were allowed in because they own property there.


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I appreciate everyone's feedback and information. The bottom line is that at some point travel will be safer and we will travel again. So, in the meantime I will just remain satisfied with where I am and what good fortune I have. Living close to my children and grandsons affords me the luxury of their company, not to mention the friends who are close by. Oh and then there is zoom for the others who live away! I'll quit whining for awhile and will stay in touch with all of you!

Stay well; sending virtual hugs,
Cheryl
 
My wife is also a property owner, but not sure how we would feel being in a village where people are on so many restrictions and then seeing Americans show up in their midst. Everyone has been tremendously kind to us over the years (decades), but that equation has also included us being very respectful of their customs, boundaries, and sensibilities.
 
Alpinista, do I hear a rebuke in your comment? I have been vaccinated and intend to take all precautions, anyway. I have also been traveling there for decades with much kindness shown to me and I am equally respectful of my friends and neighbors. My Italian friends have welcomed me when I've asked how they would feel about my arriving. Their already modest living status has been further devastated by the last year and they look forward to being able to some form of business.

Of course, I will re-assess things as the time gets closer. In the meantime, I love the idea of planning whether I get there in the spring or in the fall! Be well......
 
Alpinista, do I hear a rebuke in your comment?
Not a rebuke, just a personal comment on our own feelings. We do not consider the restrictions to be a punishment of us, but a method of keeping Italy's inhabitants safe. We know that our relatives and friends are anxious to see us, but not so sure about the other people with whom we would come in contact. We don't want to quibble over the meaning of "residence" in the country's guidelines for movement within the commune if challenged at our point of entry or by any local authority.

The unknowns about what stage our home area will be in (currently Code Orange), still limit us. We don't want to be "the Americans" showing up in the commune while people who reside there have limits on how far they can go from their house each day. We don't want to be the vaccinated Americans when the same opportunity may not have yet reached down to the people in the village.

We'll be the first ones there when we can fly directly into Italy and not do a third country workaround (as I read some recommending). We'll observe Italian regulations on COVID and the Schengen Agreement and might even obey the speed limits ;-) -- bottom line for us is that we want to be comfortable with our presence ourselves and to know that everyone around us is equally comfortable and that we're as unobtrusive as possible.

Looking forward to all of us being free to enjoy the beauties of Italy again.
 
Pauline, maybe I'll meet you and Steve in Puglia, then! It's been a long while since our last visit. and I so want to meet Valerie and Bryan in person. Stay well!
 
Pauline, maybe I'll meet you and Steve in Puglia, then! It's been a long while since our last visit. and I so want to meet Valerie and Bryan in person. Stay well!
Steve wants to drive down to Puglia and Basilicata after our Switzerland trip in September - in our British car! @jonathan and Philippa used to drive from England to Puglia once a year - so perhaps we could do it!
 
I started a new thread about going to Italy if you own a home there to keep the info in one place.

 

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