Italy loosens COVID restrictions in five regions, including Lombardy.

Delta and Alitalia to launch quarantine-free flights to Italy from December 19th. The Italian government will ease anti-COVID restrictions in five regions from Sunday, including Lombardy. Lombardy, Piedmont and Calabria will be downgraded from red to orange zones, while Sicily and Liguria will drop from the orange to the yellow zone, which has the least restrictions.

Red zone residents are only allowed to leave their homes for work, health reasons or emergencies, while bars, restaurants and most shops are shuttered. In the orange zone, people can move freely within their towns and cities, but cannot travel elsewhere. Bars and restaurants are closed, but shops can open.

Abruzzo, Campania, Tuscany, Valle d’Aosta and Bolzano province will all remain in the red zone for now, while Basilicata, Emilia Romagna, Fruili, the Marches, Puglia and Umbria will still be orange.

Delta and Alitalia have announced that from December 19th, quarantine-free flights will be offered from New York’s John F. Kennedy and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airports. Under the new measures, passengers will be required to take a PCR test no more than 72 hours before departure, followed by three rapid tests at either airport before boarding and upon landing at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. Flights originating from Fiumicino will follow the same protocol.