Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Anyone returning to the UK from parts of northern Italy now on lockdown because of coronavirus must self-isolate, the chief medical officer has said.
The government has updated its travel advice as Italy scrambles to contain an outbreak that has now spread south, after the first positive case was confirmed in Sicily.
Travellers – even those without symptoms – coming home to Britain from specific areas have been told to stay indoors, avoid contact with other people and call NHS 111.
People returning from the wider region – anywhere north of but not including Pisa, Florence and Rimini – who do have flu-like symptoms must also self-isolate.
The latest advice could impact people returning from half-term skiing holidays.
So far 13 people in the UK have tested positive for COVID-19; the latest four were travellers rescued from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
Globally there are 80,248 suspected and confirmed cases and 2,704 people have died, according to the Johns Hopkins hospital – one of the biggest medical researchers in the world which is collating the figures.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he didn’t think any Britons were trapped in the areas being quarantined by the Italian government but the “significant outbreak” of cases there was “worrying”.
“I’m pretty worried,” he told Sky News’ Kay Burley@Breakfast. “We’ve got the plans in place. At the moment the containment here is going well, but it’s my job to be worried.
“That’s what you’d expect of a health secretary in the middle of what is a global outbreak.
“There is a good chance that we contain this at this sort of level where the number of cases – although we expect more cases in the UK – the number of cases is relatively low as now.”
He added anyone who has also returned from Iran, special care zones in South Korea and Hubei province in China should also self-isolate immediately.
Courtesy of Sky News
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
