Italy's islands hope to vaccinate entire populations to make tourism safe
For Britons yearning for pizza, pasta and Aperol spritz, Italy’s small islands are emerging as a safe destination for this summer as they emulate Greece’s example of vaccinating entire populations.
Islands such as Ischia, famed for its hot springs, Procida, which was used as a location for The Talented Mr Ripley, and Capri are pushing to have all their inhabitants vaccinated so they can welcome foreign visitors.
Picturesque islands such as the Aeolian archipelago north of Sicily and Elba off the coast of Tuscany are also hoping to sign up to the campaign.
Sardinia and Sicily are trying to get in on the act, although their much large populations – Sardinia has around 1.6 million inhabitants while Sicily has five million - make mass vaccination a far greater challenge.
“If we proceed quickly with the vaccination of the entire population, we can host tourists in total safety, opening up preferential corridors with countries that have already completed their immunisation programmes,” the governors of Sicily and Sardinia wrote in an appeal to Mario Draghi, the prime minister.
The island vaccination plan has the support of Bernabo Bocca, the president of Federalberghi, a national association of hoteliers.
It is essential to present Italy’s islands as safe destinations “otherwise tourists will choose the Cyclades” and other Greek destinations, he said.
There is no national plan to vaccinate Italy’s islands – for now, the initiative is being taken by regions such as Campania, which counts Capri, Procida and Ischia among its island gems.
Campania has set aside 20,000 vaccines for the islands, with the push due to start next week.
“We hope to be a Covid-free island this summer,” said Marino Lembo, the mayor of Capri. “We can save the summer season while at the same time protecting the local population.” He said 70 per cent of Capri’s tiny population was dependent on tourism.
The regions are belatedly following the lead of Greece, where teams of doctors and nurses have been dispatched to dozens of small islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas to make sure that everyone is jabbed in time for the summer holiday season.
Greece has said that it will be open for tourism on May 14, as long as visitors can show that they have been vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid-19.
In contrast, Italy is lagging behind, with no clear timetable set out by the government for the reopening of the country to tourism.
The prime minister has said it depends on the number of new cases and whether the country can speed up its laggardly vaccination programme. The tourism minister said Italy could potentially reopen to tourism in early June.
"It is necessary to monitor the data and, on the basis of the data, reopen as soon as possible,” said Massimo Garavaglia.
"We need to plan to be fast, otherwise other countries will overtake us.” He said that June 2, which is a national holiday “could be the date of the reopening.”
The tourism sector, which fears losing out to destinations such as Greece and Spain, is desperate for the government to give a clear indication of when visitors will be welcome again.
Italy’s vaccination programme has been marred by supply problems, fears over the safety of the AstraZeneca jab and bureaucratic dysfunction.
Out of the country’s population of 60 million, just 3.5 million have had both jabs – around 6% of the population.
On Thursday, more than 17,000 new Covid-19 cases were reported, along with 487 deaths from the virus. That compared with nearly 14,000 new cases and 627 victims on Wednesday. The overall death toll in Italy is now more than 112,000.
