Coronavirus update: Australia latest to impose Italy travel ban

Following a boost in the number of Coronavirus cases, the Federal Government of Australia has expanded its travel ban to Italy. Australia has revised its travel advisory and has become the latest country to join the list of countries imposing a travel ban on Italy. The new advisory follows a similar ban in place for travellers in China, Iran and in South Korea.

The travel ban for Italy will come in force from 6 PM, starting today. The countrymen were recently asked/advised by the government not to travel to outside considering the severe virus outbreak. They were asked to reconsider their need to travel outside.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, at a press conference, said that they have advised the public against travelling to Italy. He also mentioned that “the ban will come into effect at 6 PM this evening and Italy itself has effectively put itself into lockdown with travel now, and this largely closes that loop.”

As of now, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade informed that the travel advice for Italy has been upgraded to Level 3, which is ‘reconsider your need to travel’ to Italy overall, and Level 4 which is ‘do not travel’ to Lombardy and other provinces in the north, including Milan and Venice.

What does this new ban mean?
Well, this ban says that foreign nationals, who have been in China, Iran, Italy and parts of South Korea, will not be allowed inside Australia for 14 days from the time of their leaving these countries. However, if it is an Australian citizen or permanent residents of the country, returning from any of these places will be allowed to enter Australia, though they’ll have to live in isolation for a fortnight.

Italy, on the other hand, has also taken strict travel measures and has completely locked down the country for outsiders. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that expanding restrictions on travel to cover the entire country (60 million residents) to stop the spread of the deadly virus. The move was taken after Italy’s virus death toll increased by 97 in just a day.

What’s Italy’s current situation?
The country is suffering from a complete lockdown. All the places of tourist interest, such as museums, parks and major archaeological sites have been shut down. Almost all the weddings and major functions have been cancelled. Not only this, all the cafes and restaurants have been ordered to operate from 6 AM to 6 PM only.