Will I be swabbed on arrival to Sicily even with a vaccine certificate? Italian embassy moves to quash confusion

Persons travelling to Sicily from Malta will only be swabbed on arrival if they are not vaccinated and do not present a negative test result, according to a notice issued by the Italian Embassy in Valletta.

“With reference to the order of the Sicily Region relating to checks on travelers coming from Malta (as well as from other EU and extra countries),” the statement read, “these checks may consist in carrying out a quick swab upon entry into the territory.

“These checks may be carried out on those who are not in possession of a vaccination green pass or a rapid swab or a certificate of recovery from COVID-19.”

Therefore, passengers may be swabbed on arrival should they fail to present the EU’s vaccine certificate, an EU recovery certificate or a negative COVID test.

It said the measure was a response to the fast spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.

The notice follows another issued on Thursday, which conflicted with instructions from the Sicilian Regional Government.

Sicily said every passenger would be getting swabbed on arrival, regardless of their vaccination status and of whether they presented a negative result.

The disagreement between the Italian Government entities led to further confusion for travellers between the countries.

However, this seems to have resulted from an issue in transposition, and the Italian Government has now cleared up the matter, bringing some measure of peace of mind to visitors to our closest neighbour.