Rome Colosseum to reopen in June after coronavirus kept it closed for months

Italy’s Colosseum Archaeological Park in Rome (PArCo) announced Tuesday it will reopen to the public on June 1 after having been closed for three months due to coronavirus restrictions.

There are new guidelines in place to ensure health and safety standards are met.

All visitors are required to wear a mask and each ticketholder will need to have their temperature taken “before crossing the entrances to the Colosseum and the archaeological area of ​​the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill,” according to PArCo.

Groups are allowed up to 14 people and each group will have to wait 15 minutes after the party in front of them has been allowed in.

Italy, which was Europe’s epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, has had more than 230,000 cases of COVID-19. It is also the third-leading nation in the world in fatalities, behind the United States and the United Kingdom, with more than 33,000 deaths, according to Italy’s Ministry of Health.

Nearly 145,000 people in Italy have recovered from the coronavirus while almost 53,000 people are still sick.

The health ministry lists the average age of death from the virus at 80 years old, and close to 60 percent of those who died suffered from three preexisting conditions.

Italy has started to relax restrictions that were in place and phase two of the country’s reopening plan has begun. Churches, restaurants, bars, shops and hairdressers have been allowed to reopen, but social distancing regulations are still in place.

“Over the weekend, we reached 100,000 new cases per day worldwide and 5 and a half million in total,” Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza tweeted Monday. “These numbers are impressive.”

“In Italy the curve continues to bend on the right side, but caution is needed,” the minister added. “Never forget that the virus is only defeated with a global approach.”

Health experts continue to warn about social distancing measures amid easing restrictions.