Italy bans cross-country travel over Christmas

Regional travel banned for two weeks and people will not be allowed to leave their home towns on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Eve

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte arrives at the European Council summit in Brussels (Reuters)

Italians will be unable to travel between regions over the Christmas period, after the government announced restrictions on movement from 21 December to 6 January in an attempt to control the spread of Covid.

On top of regional travel bans, people will not be allowed to leave their home towns on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, or New Year’s Eve. 

Restaurants will remain permitted to be open, though some areas will only allow  takeaways, and ski slopes will be forced to remain closed until 7 January. 

A 10pm to 5am curfew, which was implemented by the Italian government on 2 November, will remain in place over the Christmas period.

The rules come as Italy announced its highest daily Covid death toll since the pandemic started, with 993 fatalities on 3 December.

"We cannot let down our guard," prime minister Giuseppe Conte told a press conference.

"We must eliminate the risk of a third wave which could arrive in January - and not less serious than the first and the second," he added.

But the national government has been criticised by local and regional leaders, who said they were not consulted on any of the new restrictions. 

In a joint statement, regional authorities complained that “the lack of discussion has made it impossible to balance the curbs with the needs of families”.

Attilio Fontana, governor of the northern Lombardy region, which has reported the most cases and deaths, called the new rules "crazy".