The new Dpcm of 25 October 2020: what changes
New opening hours for restaurants, clubs and bars. Gym and pool closures and other new rules
During the night, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed the new decree, in force from Monday 26 October to 24 November, with restrictive anti-Covid measures, including the closure of all restaurants, bars and ice-cream parlours at 6pm.
Restaurants, tables of 4 and after 6 p.m. there is still take-away.
Restaurants, bars, pubs, ice-cream parlours and pastry shops can stay open from 5 am to 6 pm. Consumption at the table is allowed for a maximum of four people per table, unless they all live together.
After 6 p.m. it is forbidden to consume food and drink in public places and open to the public, but catering in hotels and other accommodation facilities is allowed without time limits, only for customers staying there. Catering with home delivery is "always permitted, and until midnight catering with take-away, with a ban on consumption on site or nearby".
Canteen and catering activities continue to be permitted". Finally, "food and beverage services are still open in service and refuelling areas located along motorways, hospitals and airports".
Shopping: in the shops there is only time left for shopping. Beauty salons, hairdressers and barbers can continue to work. Retail shops such as footwear, clothing, accessories, bookshops, perfumeries also remain open without time limits, but they must respect the rules: from the distance of one metre to the extended entrances of customers. The novelty is in the passage in which the government asks shopkeepers "to be prevented from staying on the premises longer than the time necessary to purchase goods". They are also required to comply with protocols and guidelines. In addition to food shops and pharmacies, shopping centres remain open.
The new decree closes cinemas and theatres for a month: "Shows open to the public in theatres, concert halls, cinemas and other open-air spaces are suspended". Museums remain open and so do the other "institutes and places of culture", such as archaeological areas and monuments. Entrances to the public are restricted, visitors must respect the distance of at least one metre and gatherings are forbidden. Conferences, congresses and other events are suspended, "with the exception of those held at a distance". Theme and amusement parks are also suspended until the decree expires on 24 November.
No specific rules on public transport have been included in the Dpcm and therefore the capacity remains fixed at 80%.
The text of the new Dpcm reads as "of the streets or squares in urban centres, where situations of crowding can be created, may be closed to the public, after 9 p.m., subject to the possibility of access, and runoff, to legitimately open shops and private homes".
Gymnasiums, swimming pools, swimming centres, wellness centres and spas are also closed. The basic sporting activity and motor activity carried out outdoors in public and private sports centres and clubs are permitted in compliance with the rules of social distancing and without any assembly. Therefore, sports such as tennis, padel or athletics would be practicable.