Italy introduces mandatory five-day quarantine and testing for UK arrivals
18 June 2021, 14:14 | Updated: 18 June 2021, 15:38
Italy will introduce mandatory testing and a five-day quarantine for people arriving from the UK, the country's health minister has announced.
The measures will come into effect from Saturday 19 June due to concerns over the spread of the highly contagious Delta Covid variant, first detected in India.
Roberto Speranza also said Italy is lifting restrictions on travellers arriving from the US, Canada, Japan and other European Union countries if they have a green pass proving they are vaccinated or have recently tested negative.
However, a ban on people arriving from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will remain in place.
He wrote on Facebook: "I signed a new order that... introduces a 5 day quarantine with swab obligation for those from Great Britain."
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Ho firmato una nuova ordinanza che: 1) consente l’ingresso dai Paesi dell’Unione Europea e da Stati Uniti, Canada e...
Posted by Roberto Speranza on Friday, June 18, 2021
A spokesperson for the Italian Government confirmed the announcement to LBC on Friday afternoon.
Mr Speranza added that the order "allows entry from the European Union countries and the United States, Canada and Japan with Green Certificate requirements" and "extends entry ban measures from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka".
The southern European nation joins France, Germany and Austria in introducing various restrictions on people arriving from the UK.
It comes after Public Health England confirmed that cases of the Delta variant rose by 79 per cent in a week.
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Hospital cases have also risen, though most of those needing hospital treatment have not had a vaccine.
The data shows that 75,953 confirmed and probable cases of the strain have now been found in the UK - up by 33,630, or 79 per cent, on the previous week.
On Friday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the NHS is facing the "biggest pressure" in its history due to a backlog of procedures.
He told the NHS Confederation conference that up to 12.2 million people are in need of elective procedures delayed due to the pandemic, including 5.1m people already on waiting lists.
