Coronavirus live news: South Africa tightens restrictions; Italy mask-free from today

South Africa re-introduces curfew, alcohol ban; all of Italy mask free and low risk from Monday; Australia’s Covid response team holds urgent meeting amid outbreak

All of Italy became a mask-free, “low-risk” zone for coronavirus Monday, marking a dramatic milestone for the first European country to be hit by the global pandemic in February 2020, AFP reports.

In a decree that took effect Monday, the health ministry for the first time classified each of Italy’s 20 regions as “white”, signifying low risk, under the country’s colour-coded classification system that evaluates Covid-19 risk.

Authorities in South Africa have imposed new restrictions in a last ditch attempt to stem a sharp rise in Covid-19 that is ravaging the country’s economic heartland.

The wave of infections has been driven by the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant, weak countermeasures and public fatigue with existing restrictions.

Related: South Africa tightens Covid rules as ‘devastating wave’ gathers pace

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Coronavirus | The Guardian

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