Photo: TIZIANA FABI/AFP via GettyOne of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations is cracking down on overcrowding as COVID-19 continues to spread internationally.Florence mayor Dario Nardella signed an ordinance prohibiting people from walking around popular areas in the historic city on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for the foreseeable future.Six areas of the city center are now off-limits between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. unless bars or restaurants are operating there. Impacted areas include Piazza Strozzi, Santa Croce, Piazza S.S. Annunziata and Santo Spirito, where much of the nightlife takes place.Anyone found in violation of the law can be fined between €400 and €1,000 (or between $475 and $1,185).Never miss a story - sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best ofwhat PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.News of the ban is not sitting well with locals. Many feel the new ordinance is misguided.“The squares are public – if people are behaving badly you need to make them go away, you don’t say that you can only access these places with a receipt from a bar – it’s saying you can only get access if you pay,” said B&B owner Veronica Grechi, via CNN.Fabio Sasso/AGF/Universal Images Group via GettyItaly was one of the hardest-hit countries when the pandemic began in early 2020. Airlines across the globecanceled flightsto the COVID-19 hotspot two months before the country first went into lockdown on March 9.As a result, Italy’s booming tourism industry took a major hit. The country lost an estimated €120.6 billion last year alone and 337,000 people in the travel and tourism industries lost their jobs, according toTheLocalIT.com.Italy’s COVID-19 numbers have plummeted in recent weeks following another spike in cases in late 2020, allowing tourism to blossom once again. The new walking ban, however, could throw a wrench into that plan.Meanwhile, there is still plenty of apprehension around returning to normal in the United States.A recent study of 2,000 Americans showed 46 percent of those polledremain concernedabout their health or the health of a loved one, while four in 10 are unsure of how comfortable they feel re-entering a more “normal” world.Additionally, 46 percent have struggled to find the proper work-life balance while 52 percent of employed Americans are working longer hours than they did before the pandemic began.Fifty-three percent of respondents reported a decline in their physical health. Another 46 percent have seen a decline in their mental health.
Photo: TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty
One of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations is cracking down on overcrowding as COVID-19 continues to spread internationally.Florence mayor Dario Nardella signed an ordinance prohibiting people from walking around popular areas in the historic city on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for the foreseeable future.Six areas of the city center are now off-limits between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. unless bars or restaurants are operating there. Impacted areas include Piazza Strozzi, Santa Croce, Piazza S.S. Annunziata and Santo Spirito, where much of the nightlife takes place.Anyone found in violation of the law can be fined between €400 and €1,000 (or between $475 and $1,185).Never miss a story - sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best ofwhat PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.News of the ban is not sitting well with locals. Many feel the new ordinance is misguided.“The squares are public – if people are behaving badly you need to make them go away, you don’t say that you can only access these places with a receipt from a bar – it’s saying you can only get access if you pay,” said B&B owner Veronica Grechi, via CNN.Fabio Sasso/AGF/Universal Images Group via GettyItaly was one of the hardest-hit countries when the pandemic began in early 2020. Airlines across the globecanceled flightsto the COVID-19 hotspot two months before the country first went into lockdown on March 9.As a result, Italy’s booming tourism industry took a major hit. The country lost an estimated €120.6 billion last year alone and 337,000 people in the travel and tourism industries lost their jobs, according toTheLocalIT.com.Italy’s COVID-19 numbers have plummeted in recent weeks following another spike in cases in late 2020, allowing tourism to blossom once again. The new walking ban, however, could throw a wrench into that plan.Meanwhile, there is still plenty of apprehension around returning to normal in the United States.A recent study of 2,000 Americans showed 46 percent of those polledremain concernedabout their health or the health of a loved one, while four in 10 are unsure of how comfortable they feel re-entering a more “normal” world.Additionally, 46 percent have struggled to find the proper work-life balance while 52 percent of employed Americans are working longer hours than they did before the pandemic began.Fifty-three percent of respondents reported a decline in their physical health. Another 46 percent have seen a decline in their mental health.
One of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations is cracking down on overcrowding as COVID-19 continues to spread internationally.
Florence mayor Dario Nardella signed an ordinance prohibiting people from walking around popular areas in the historic city on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for the foreseeable future.
Six areas of the city center are now off-limits between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. unless bars or restaurants are operating there. Impacted areas include Piazza Strozzi, Santa Croce, Piazza S.S. Annunziata and Santo Spirito, where much of the nightlife takes place.
Anyone found in violation of the law can be fined between €400 and €1,000 (or between $475 and $1,185).
Never miss a story - sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best ofwhat PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
News of the ban is not sitting well with locals. Many feel the new ordinance is misguided.
“The squares are public – if people are behaving badly you need to make them go away, you don’t say that you can only access these places with a receipt from a bar – it’s saying you can only get access if you pay,” said B&B owner Veronica Grechi, via CNN.
Fabio Sasso/AGF/Universal Images Group via Getty
Italy was one of the hardest-hit countries when the pandemic began in early 2020. Airlines across the globecanceled flightsto the COVID-19 hotspot two months before the country first went into lockdown on March 9.
As a result, Italy’s booming tourism industry took a major hit. The country lost an estimated €120.6 billion last year alone and 337,000 people in the travel and tourism industries lost their jobs, according toTheLocalIT.com.
Italy’s COVID-19 numbers have plummeted in recent weeks following another spike in cases in late 2020, allowing tourism to blossom once again. The new walking ban, however, could throw a wrench into that plan.
Meanwhile, there is still plenty of apprehension around returning to normal in the United States.
A recent study of 2,000 Americans showed 46 percent of those polledremain concernedabout their health or the health of a loved one, while four in 10 are unsure of how comfortable they feel re-entering a more “normal” world.
Additionally, 46 percent have struggled to find the proper work-life balance while 52 percent of employed Americans are working longer hours than they did before the pandemic began.
Fifty-three percent of respondents reported a decline in their physical health. Another 46 percent have seen a decline in their mental health.
source: people.com
