The Italian government announced plans on Thursday to phase out its coronavirus restrictions more than two years after the disease first swept the country, even though cases are once again on the rise. The cabinet said COVID-19 health certificates, proving vaccination or recent recovery from coronavirus, would no longer be needed to gain access to a vast array of services, including restaurants, gyms and public transport, from May 1.

The requirement that anyone aged over 50 should be vaccinated to enter their place of work will expire on April 1. The state of emergency, which allows public authorities to bypass bureaucracy and impose rules via decrees, will expire on March 31. From that date, the board of experts advising the government on COVID will be disbanded.