“Not to worry [about new cases from abroad] would be unconscionable,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza told the Corriere della Sera daily, which noted: “France, Spain and the Balkans… Italy is surrounded by contagions”.
READ ALSO: 'Italy should be wary of tourists, not vice versa': The verdict on visiting Italy this summer
Fear over new outbreaks imported by returning vacationers has been fuelled by the much-publicised case of 30 young Italians from the Veneto region who holidayed in Croatia and returned with coronavirus at the start of August.
Meanwhile in Tuscany a dozen young people who returned from a trip to the Greek island of Corfu have since tested positive, as has the mother of one of the group.
As well as banning non-essential travel from most countries outside Europe, Italy is closed to residents of Bosnia, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro, while people arriving from Romania and Bulgaria are obliged to spend 14 days in quarantine.
READ ALSO: Italy's latest travel rules, explained
Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP
Though the first European country to be hit hard by the virus back in February, Italy has since reaped the rewards of a strict nationwide lockdown and social distancing policy. On Sunday it reported just two deaths from the virus.
Case numbers are rising, however, with 463 new infections reported over a 24-hour period.
READ ALSO: Italy warns of uptick in coronavirus infections as reproduction number rises
But that is a markedly better performance than that of Spain — which leads the way in the number of new infections recorded over the past two weeks, followed by Romania, France, Germany, Britain and Poland.
“We have to be ready: over the next two weeks, the number of contagions on their return [from abroad] will increase,” Rodolfo Punzi, director of the infectious diseases department at Naples' Cotugno hospital, told the Stampa daily.
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Having read the latest reports about the coronavirus being brought back into Italy (and other countries) from holidaymakers I felt compelled to comment.
I can understand people wanting to take a holiday abroad for some sunshine, a change of scenery and to get away from it all. What I can’t understand is going to places where there are crowds of people such as nightclubs, athletic gatherings and the like. I understand from reading other media that the Italians who brought back COVID from Corfu had been to these places. I also read that the youngsters in the nightclubs weren’t wearing masks. We all need to be responsible and not be influenced what other people do and say when it comes to staying safe. Just because other people aren’t wearing masks doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Parents must instil this into their children to keep them safe. Greece has worked hard to keep the coronavirus under control with only 221 deaths in a population of 10.7 million and not one doctor treating COVID patients has died and there have been no deaths in nursing homes. They reacted quickly and efficiently when the first case was diagnosed on 26 February to start cancelling large gatherings. It is up to us to be responsible and stop the spread before things get worse.