Italy advice

[redferrari]

Is there some guidelines about travelling to and from Italy? Is the outbreak of corona really as serious as in media? We were planning to go in the Easter break but will probably go in summer.
Colleagues from Italy gave come this week after some carnival last week. Should we be worried? They weren't given any guidelines to quarantine on arrival.

Some cities in northern italy are on lock down. there is detailed advice for travellers to italy generally and those returning from the specific region where there is a cluster on the dot gov websites. I am worried because there is no vaccine for this strain and wont be for at least another 12 months, the mortality rate is several hundred times higher than flu and I and members of my family are immunocompromised. so personally, I would be staying at home over Easter and watching and waiting for the summer.

You can get current figures here - Italy currently at 322 cases and 11 deaths but this updates regularly:

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

If it's Venice carnival advice is if he feels ill within 14 days he should self isolate. Public Health England advice is here but a new one comes out each day:

www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public

FCO has latest travel advice for Italy.

And call 111 if he feels ill, don't go to GPs etc.

Thanks @mummymeister, we are also leaning towards cancelling this. A colleague who is a good friend came into work today from Italy. I am a bit worried as she was in a carnival and although she seemed to be outside the zone where they quarantined I am not sure she was in contact with others in the flight or airport

We’re going to Rome at the end of May. Rightly (or wrongly!) I’m not that worried at this point as we’re fit and healthy and there is some time between then and now. Unless Foreign Office advice changes, your travel insurance won’t cover cancellation. I’d wait and see what happens if I were you.

My ds came back from a school trip to Southern Italy on saturday night, they were scanned in the airport flying out & checked again before they were allowed back in the airport coming home. Anyone who had a raised temperature was taken away for further checks.

Thanks all for the advice. I am mentally prepared to lose some money at this stage if I were to cancel or wait. It won't be a great break if everything is closed there too, I guess there is still time for anything to be known clearly.

Absolutely. I think it's a case of wait and see and hope for the best! If Foreign Office advice changes then we'll both be covered by the insurance. If nearer the time you're not happy about going, I'd speak to the airline and hotel first about the cost of moving this to another date before any cancellation. My parents have done this on a number of occassions (due to health issues) and sometimes it's worked (at the cost of a couple of hundred) and sometimes not!