Italy to scrap mandatory outdoor masks on Friday: Health Undersecretary

Rome: Italy will abolish the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors on Friday as the country continues to register a gradual decrease in the daily number of COVID-19 cases, said Italian Health Undersecretary Andrea Costa.

"A health ministry measure is coming to remove outdoor face masks in the whole national territory without a distinction due to colour, starting on February 11," Costa said, as quoted by Italy's national newswire ANSA. He also stressed the relevant order was under development and would apply to all regions of the country, regardless of the number of COVID-19 cases.

According to the latest data from the Italian Health Ministry, COVID-19 infections are decreasing in the country, with 41,247 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. For comparison, Italy registered 77,029 cases the day before.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has exceeded 11 million. Over 9 million have recovered, and 149,097 have died.