San Marino to scrap coronavirus curfew from 26 April as tiny microstate administers Sputnik covid-19 vaccine.

San Marino, the tiny landlocked country within northern Italy, begins to ease it covid-19 restrictions from 12 April, thanks to the Sputnik covid-19 vaccine sent from Russia.

The entire adult population of San Marino, which claims to be the world's oldest republic, will be able to book their covid vaccine from 12 April, the same day that restaurants and bars reopen at night.

From 12-18 April, restaurants and bars can stay open until 21.30. When San Marino extends its existing curfew of 22.00 until midnight on 19 April, restaurants and bars can remain open until 23.00.

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From 26 April, when San Marino scraps its nightly curfew completely, restaurants can stay open as late as they like.

Schools and museums reopen fully on 12 April, with gyms reopening on 19 April, while from 26 April cinemas and theatres reopen their doors in the microstate located near Rimini.

The move is linked to the country's vaccination campaign which, six weeks ago, risked failure after an agreement to receive vaccines from Italy never materialised.

As it is not a member of the EU, San Marino was excluded from the deals negotiated by Brussels with pharmaceutical firms.

San Marino then fell back on its "Plan B" and turned to an old friend, Russia, who was happy to supply it with Sputnik, a vaccine as yet unauthorised by the EU.

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San Marino and Russia share close ties, with more than 100,000 Russian tourists travelling to tiny independent state near the Adriatic coast in a typical year.

Thanks to the last-minute deal with Russia, 37,000 doses of Sputnik's vaccine arrived in recent days in San Marino, which counts around 33,800 inhabitants.

So far about 16,000 doses have been administered, with over 6,500 citizens already receiving both doses.

San Marino's goal is to complete its vaccination programme, administering both doses of the vaccine to all of its residents, by May.

Full details about covid-19 restrictions and travel requirements can be found - in English - on the Republic of San Marino website.

Photo credit: MikeNG / Shutterstock.com.