Quarantine for those who enter Italy from Romania and Bulgaria.

The Italian government has imposed quarantine measures for people entering Italy after staying in Romania and Bulgaria in the last 14 days, in a move designed to prevent the importation of covid-19 into the country.

The order was signed on 24 July by Italy's health minister Roberto Speranza who said that "prudence and attention are still needed" to fight the coronavirus which "is not beaten and continues to circulate," reports Italian news agency ANSA.

The measure, which is in place until 31 July and does not apply to flight crews, is "already in force for all non-EU and non-Schengen countries," says Speranza.

There are about one million Romanians working in Italy, employed mostly in construction and personal services, such as domestic workers and carers, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

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On 9 July Italy banned entry to people coming from 13 countries that it said presented an excessive rate of covid-19 infections: Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Kuwait, North Macedonia, Moldova, Oman, Panama, Peru and Dominican Republic. Italy added Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo to the list on 16 July.

The travel ban includes all direct and indirect flights to and from countries on the list, and affects anyone who has stayed in or travelled through these countries during the previous 14 days.

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There are no entry restrictions into Italy for citizens of EU countries, Schengen countries, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco, and Vatican City.

Quarantine-free access to Italy also applies to people travelling from the following counries: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Montenegro, Morocco, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

For full information, in English, see the Italian health ministry website.

Photo Corriere della Sera