The Italian government Friday night (August 7) gave the green light in one of its latest moves to boost the country's vital tourism industry, pummeled by the pandemic. Cruise ships can resume operations in Italy starting August 15.
The approval has come despite COVID-19 infections being confirmed in crew and passengers in recently resumed sailings in other European nations. After dozens aboard a cruise ship tested positive for the virus, Norway decided to close its ports to cruise ships for 2 weeks.
The Italian cruise line Costa Cruises is expected to start sailing shortly after August 15 as the announcement falls in line with the end of their cruise suspension. The company has scheduled reopening voyages starting on August 15 with calls in Greece which also reopened ports for cruise ships as of August 1.
Italy created a safe list that allows for travel to the country from some European countries with no need for quarantine. Only cruise passengers from the approved country list will be allowed to board and disembark the cruise ship at Italian ports.