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US issues Italy travel warning citing local virus ‘spread’

The United States on Friday issued a Level 3 travel warning for Italy, advising against all non-essential travel to the country due to "widespread community transmission" of Coronavirus.

Published: 29 February 2020 08:57 CET
US issues Italy travel warning citing local virus 'spread'
Photographers take pictures of a tourist wearing a protective face mask in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in the centre of Milan, on February 28. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “recommends that travellers avoid all non-essential travel to Italy. There is limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas,” the agency said in a statement.
   
At the same time, the US State Department raised its travel advice a notch for Italy from “exercise increased caution” to “reconsider travel”, one step below the highest warning level, “do not travel”. 
 
“Many cases of COVID-19 have been associated with travel to or from mainland China or close contact with a travel-related case, but sustained community spread has been reported in Italy,” the state department wrote. 
 
At the time of writing, Italy has reported 888 coronavirus cases and 21 deaths  — the most in Europe from the epidemic that originated in China, which is still by far the most affected country.
More than 5.6 million Americans visited Italy in 2018, the second highest of all nationalities after Germans, according to Italian statistics.
 
Several airlines including British Airways and Easyjet have cut the number of flights to and from Italian airports in the coming weeks due to “reduced demand”.

Since Saturday, 10 towns have been under lockdown in Lombardy and one in Veneto – a drastic measure taken to halt the spread of the disease.

However outside of this small area, there are no travel restrictions in place in Italy.

Italian government ministers have stressed that Italy remains safe to visit, as most of the country remains unaffected by the virus.

The number of cases of infection reported has risen steadily each day, though Italian researchers said on Friday that did not mean the virus was spreading.
 
 
Most cases are believed to be people who had caught it previously, but had not been tested until now.
 
According to the World Health Organisation 80 percent of those who are infected with the virus only suffer mild symptoms such as a headache or soar throat

Around five percent end up in a critical condition.

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Published: 27 June 2023 13:27 CEST
Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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