Coronavirus: Government advising against all travel to Italy

The government are advising people to avoid travelling to Italy, as the southern Europe country goes into lockdown to try and contain the spread of Covid-19.

Making the announcement this morning Tánaiste Simon Coveney said that people should avoid all travel to Italy - not just the northern provinces as previously stated.

However, Coveney said that while the government can advise Irish citizens not to travel to Italy “we cannot control a country in lockdown” and stop Italian citizens from travelling to Ireland.

"In light of internal developments in Italy my department is upgrading travel advice to Irish citizens, recommending against travel to whole of Italy," Mr Coveny wrote on Twitter this morning.

"The Taoiseach will today raise the issue of flights (and) further EU-wide responses at a meeting of the European Council," he added.

There are no experts on the virus as it was unknown prior to nine weeks ago, he pointed out on Morning Ireland. “We are trying to understand more each day.

“We are trying to provide responses that are proportionate. We are trying to follow public health advice. We need to listen to the experts and the advice they give,” he said.

“We need to move on the basis of good public health advice and not political decisions.”

"The challenge is to slow down infection, to give health authorities time to cope.”

Mr Coveney pointed out that even if only a small percentage of those infected suffer a significant health impact, the fatal percentage could mean thousands of deaths.

“This is a challenge that is unprecedented. A lot is happening, advice will be upgraded on a daily basis.”

Any decisions on public gatherings need to be made on the basis of sound evidence, he said. His own schedule for a trip to New York for St Patrick’s Day is being reviewed on a daily basis, he said.

While Ireland remains in the containment phase, it was inevitable that the country would move into the delay phase, he said.

It comes after Italian premier Giuseppe Conte extended restrictions on travel from the north to the entire country to try to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Sixty million people in Italy have told they should only travel for essential work or emergencies as more than 9,000 people are infected with Covid 19.

Mr Conte said a new government decree will require all people in Italy to demonstrate a need to work, health conditions or other limited reasons to travel outside the areas where they live.

Previously, the government had advised that last week's scheduled Six Naitons rugby match between Italy and Ireland be postponed - but no restriction was put on flights from the country into Ireland.

- Additional reporting by Vivienne Clarke and Press Association