Health experts had urged the government to rethink its quarantine policies amid concerns that the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant could paralyse the country by forcing millions to stay at home. With close to 100,000 people now testing positive daily in Italy, experts warned this could mean half a million people required to quarantine daily unless the rules were eased.

Quarantine will no longer be required for those who had contact with a positive case if they have had a booster dose, or were vaccinated or have recovered within the last 120 days, according to a government statement released on Wednesday night. They will be required to wear a more protective FFP2 mask for 10 days and, if they have symptoms, take a test within five days of contact with the positive person.