Where in Italy can you get Covid-19 test results in English?
Updated Covid-19 testing rules for travellers to the UK have caused concern among readers in Italy. Here's where results are available in English.
As The Local reported earlier this month, the British government has set new rules on what languages Covid-19 test results need to be in for arrivals. Italian was not one of them.
READ ALSO: Travellers to UK told Covid test results cannot be in Italian
This change caused concern among readers, as it was unclear whether or how travellers could obtain test results in English before departing from Italy.
"Your test result must be in either English, French or Spanish. Translations will not be accepted, and you must provide the original test result certificate," read the government rules.
The test must be taken within the 72 hours before travelling to the UK.
The measure was imposed amid an alarming spike in infections in the UK and concerns that virus variants from abroad, such as those detected in Brazil and South Africa, will add to the health crisis if they are allowed to spread
Dozens of readers have since been in touch to ask where they can get a test result in English.
Many were concerned this would not be possible at all, but several readers have contacted The Local to tell us that they were able to get results in English.
The following organisations say they provide English-language results in Milan:
And in Rome:
On Wednesday, the British Embassy in Rome released a list of testing centres in Italy which can provide English-language results, either automatically or on request.
According to the Embassy, test results are available in English at clinics in the following ten of Italy's 20 regions: Abruzzo, Campania, Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmont, Sardinia, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d’Aosta, and Veneto..
The Health Ministry has also compiled a complete list of approved testing centres across Italy, which you can find here. Contact your nearest centre to find out whether they are able to give results in English.
One reader also contacted The Local to say they had received their Covid test certificate from the Red Cross testing facility at Rome Fiumicino in English when returning to the US in early January. The certificate included all of the required information except for contact details for the test provider (the Red Cross).
It is possible that clinics may be able to add additional information on request. Contact your test provider in advance for more information.
The UK government says the result must include the following:
-
your name, which should match the name on your travel documents
-
your date of birth or age
-
the result of the test
-
the date the test sample was collected or received by the test provider
-
the name of the test provider and their contact details
-
the name of the test device
"If the test result does not include this information you may not be able to board, and may not be able to travel to England. If you arrive without a test result that includes this information, you will be committing a criminal offence and could receive a £500 fine."
"Your test result can be provided as a physical, printed document, or via email or text message, which you can show on your phone. Make sure that your device is charged."
For more information click here.
The Local also understands that there are numerous clinics in Rome and elsewhere offering to provide translations of test results. These would not be valid for travel, as the British Embassy has stressed that "translations are not accepted."
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As The Local reported earlier this month, the British government has set new rules on what languages Covid-19 test results need to be in for arrivals. Italian was not one of them.
READ ALSO: Travellers to UK told Covid test results cannot be in Italian
This change caused concern among readers, as it was unclear whether or how travellers could obtain test results in English before departing from Italy.
"Your test result must be in either English, French or Spanish. Translations will not be accepted, and you must provide the original test result certificate," read the government rules.
The test must be taken within the 72 hours before travelling to the UK.
The measure was imposed amid an alarming spike in infections in the UK and concerns that virus variants from abroad, such as those detected in Brazil and South Africa, will add to the health crisis if they are allowed to spread
The UK government says the result must include the following:
- your name, which should match the name on your travel documents
- your date of birth or age
- the result of the test
- the date the test sample was collected or received by the test provider
- the name of the test provider and their contact details
- the name of the test device
"If the test result does not include this information you may not be able to board, and may not be able to travel to England. If you arrive without a test result that includes this information, you will be committing a criminal offence and could receive a £500 fine."
"Your test result can be provided as a physical, printed document, or via email or text message, which you can show on your phone. Make sure that your device is charged."
For more information click here.
The Local also understands that there are numerous clinics in Rome and elsewhere offering to provide translations of test results. These would not be valid for travel, as the British Embassy has stressed that "translations are not accepted."
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