Italy to have 11 yellow zones from Monday as four more regions leave white zone.

The Italian regions of Lazio (Rome), Lombardia (Milan), Piemonte (Turin) and Sicily will be classified as low-moderate risk yellow zones from 3 January, under Italy's four-tiered system of covid-19 restrictions.

This will bring the total number of yellow zone regions and autonomous provinces to 11, with the four new 'zone gialle' joining Bolzano, Calabria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Marche, Trento and Veneto.

The rest of Italy is in the lowest-risk white zone, with the most relaxed rules, which become progressively stricter under the colour-coded system of yellow, orange (medium-risk) and red (highest-risk) zones.

• Italy to ease covid quarantine rules and tighten Super Green Pass

In terms of yellow zone rules, in reality nothing changes for those with the Super Green Pass. The yellow zone obligation to wear masks outdoors is already mandatory throughout Italy.

The previous rule of a maximum of four people per restaurant table (unless cohabiting) no longer applies.

To be classified a yellow zone, a region must reach the threshold of 10 per cent in intensive care and 15 per cent in general hospitalisations, with a weekly incident rate of 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

News of the four new yellow zones, announced by the health ministry on New Year's Eve, came the same day that Italy registered 144,243 covid infections over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily tally since the pandemic began.

• Covid: Italy police enforce New Year restrictions

During his final New Year address, Italy’s outgoing president Sergio Mattarella thanked Italians for their "maturity and sense of responsibility" during the two years of the pandemic, paying particular tribute to healthcare workers.

Mattarella also berated those who “waste” the opportunity to receive a covid vaccine, describing it as an “offence” to all those who didn't have the chance.

For official information about the covid-19 situation in Italy (in English) see the health ministry website. Photo credit: Gennaro Leonardi Photos / Shutterstock.com.