Holidaymakers face curbs as COVID-19 cases surge in Europe

Passengers wearing facemasks as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19 walk through arrivals at St Pancras International station in London on Friday after travelling on a Eurostar train from Paris. Pic/AFP

Italy and Britain have imposed strict rules on holidaymakers returning home, following a recent pick-up in novel Coronavirus infections in several European countries.

With daily cases rising over 500, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza signed an ordinance mandating travellers returning from Spain, Croatia, Malta and Greece to undergo COVID-19 test, reported the Guardian. "We need to maintain the utmost caution in order to defend what we have achieved so far. People returning from these countries will now have to have swabs".

523 new cases in Italy
Italy on Thursday recorded 523 new cases, up from 481 on Wednesday, said the health ministry. As of Thursday, COVID-19 has infected 2,52,235 people, including 35,225 deceased. Thousands of British holidaymakers returning from France will have to go into self-isolation for 14 days. Late Thursday, the UK government said France is being removed from the list of nations exempted from quarantine requirements because of rising infections, that surged by 66 per cent in the past week.

The Netherlands, Malta, Monaco and the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Turks & Caicos are also being added to the quarantine list. The requirement to spend 14 days in self-isolation will apply to anyone returning to the UK after 4 am local time on Saturday. The UK has so far reported 3,13,798 infections, including 41,347 deaths.

NZ outbreak spreads to other cities

New Zealand's government on Friday extended a lockdown in Auckland for another 12 days as it tries to stamp out its first domestic COVID-19 outbreak in 102 days. The outbreak has grown to 30 people and extended beyond Auckland. All of the new cases appear to be linked through family or work connections.

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