Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in a statement that a one-week suspension of flights had been ordered, and said the government would consider mandating extra precautions for people arriving in Italy from outside the EU or Schengen Zone.
“Quarantine is already required for non-EU and non-Schengen arrivals, but after all the sacrifices made we cannot allow infections to be imported from abroad,” Speranza said. “It’s better to follow the line of maximum caution.”
The decision comes a day after the Lazio region surrounding Rome issued a special decree calling for passengers from Dhaka to be given virus tests upon their arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
Of 225 passengers arriving from Dhaka on Monday, 21 tested positive for the disease, Lazio’s top health official Alessio D’Amato said on Tuesday, calling it a “veritable viral ‘bomb’ that we’ve defused”.
