everything you need to know about the 2020 Christmas lockdown

Since midnight today, December 24, Italy has been in the red zone for ten days: decree law n. 172 of December 18 decided to block Christmas 2020 “in fits and starts”, or with the alternation between the periods of greater restrictions and the orange zone that will last for four days (December 28, 29, 30 and January). On the other dates, it will be possible to leave home only for work, health or extreme need and urgency, although with many exceptions and self-certification will always be necessary, downloadable in pdf from the website of the Ministry of the Interior.

Red zone: everything you need to know about the 2020 Christmas lockdown

Compared to recent months, the most important derogation is the one introduced with Legislative Decree 172/2020: you can leave home once a day to travel around the region in the company of another person to meet family or friends, bringing with you, since children under the age of 14 or anyone not self-sufficient are not included in the account. The obligation to wear a mask indoors and outdoors and the curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. remains in force. Let’s see everything you need to know about the 2020 Christmas lockdown, which stores remain open, where you can go shopping, and how the rules for family lunches and dinners work:

• As of December 21, travel outside the region is prohibited in any case; however, it is always possible to return to one’s residence, domicile or main residence, even during the hours when the curfew is in effect; on red days (December 24, 25, 26, 27, 31 and January 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6) it is possible to make only one trip per day to visit family and friends, however for a maximum of two people to whom children under 14 years of age, disabled or not self-sufficient can be added;
• These movements will also be allowed outside the municipality, provided they are from the same region, always from 5 to 22; on orange days (December 28, 29, 30 and January 4) movements are free within the municipality, from 5 to 22, as well as visits, maintaining the same principle and a maximum of two non-cohabitants visiting at home ;
• On the same days, it is allowed to travel outside municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants within a 30-kilometer radius (even in another region), but not in the provincial capitals; for each movement you must have self-certification;
• Until January 6, travel to second homes within the same region is allowed, but only from 5 to 10 p.m. Those from other regions are prohibited;

In case of infringement, a fine is applied that can range between 400 and 1000 euros, and that can be increased by one third if the infringement occurs “through the use of a vehicle”. Regarding commercial activities, however:

• Groceries, pharmacies and parapharmacies, tobacconists, kiosks, bookstores, hairdressers, barbers and laundries; clothing, footwear, jewelry and beauty centers are closed, while only permitted stores are open in shopping centers;
• bars and restaurants are closed all day, but take-out and home shopping are allowed from 5am to 10pm;
• It is possible to go shopping outside one’s own municipality “if the municipality adjacent to one’s own has points of sale necessary for one’s own needs, also in terms of economic convenience”;

It is allowed to carry out both physical activity, individually and in the vicinity of the home, provided that the distance of at least one meter is respected and with the obligation to use protective equipment, and sports activities, but even this only in a way individual and exclusive for open. The faithful can attend mass on both red and orange days as long as they have self-certification. On the red days you will have to choose churches near your residence, on the orange days the faithful will be able to reach any sacred place located in the municipality of residence, domicile or home. If you have a population of no more than 5,000 inhabitants, it is possible to go to churches located in other municipalities that are not provincial capitals and no more than 30 km away. All parties and events are prohibited. However, during the four “orange” days, all shops may remain open except for bars and restaurants.

Self-certification from today, lunch, Christmas dinner and overnight stay with friends

All movements from today must be justified by self-certification to be delivered to the police in case of controls, which will increase for Christmas and for the red zone. If you travel to meet family and friends, you must declare that the move is determined by “other reasons allowed by current regulations or by the aforementioned decrees, ordinances or other measures that define the measures to prevent the spread of infection” and indicate the departure address (“The movement started from …”) and destination (“with destination”), but without indicating the name of the person to whom it is transferred for compliance with privacy law. With these regulations, in force with Decree Law 172/2020, the government explicitly authorized:

• Christmas lunch, because it is within the curfew time limits;
• New Year’s lunch, for the same reason.

As they are not explicitly prohibited, Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinner with two guests plus those under 14 and the non-self-sufficient are also allowed. Basically in three ways:

• the first is the simplest: dinners can be anticipated to respect the curfew;
• the second is more complicated: being allowed by the decree-law of December 2, at any time, the return home (and therefore also during the curfew) can be done after having dinner and toasting after midnight ;
• the third is the one that had been raised in recent days: fall asleep the night of January 24 and 1 and return home when the curfew has expired.

Families moving to second homes can travel by car. If a couple visits family and friends in the second home, they can stop and sleep. the Corriere della Sera today remember that inside the houses there can be no prohibitions, only recommendations.

According to experts, it is advisable to spend the holidays as a family, with a maximum of two guests, keeping the mask when you are not at the table, the distance and the rooms ventilated at least 2 or 3 minutes every hour. It is also recommended to keep the elderly and frail away from children, if possible at two separate tables when eating.

Home controls are allowed to the police only if there is a well-founded suspicion that a crime is being committed. Otherwise, the home is inviolable. The impression He reiterates that any movement must be justified, group walks are not contemplated: maximum two (except with children under 14 years old), once a day, to visit family or friends. For the rest, he goes out alone, to go shopping, go to the pharmacy or one of the stores authorized to open, or perform physical activities. In the big cities, a few hours after the toughening of the government, the main shopping streets have been robbed, from Milan to Rome and Turin. As of today, controls for compliance with regulations will be intensified. But meanwhile, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte reassures us: the Christmas squeeze could allow us to face January “dosing the measures only where necessary between the yellow, orange and red zones.” Of course, the premier said, if a peak in RT were to come “then we would easily find ourselves in the red zone or with more restrictive measures.”