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THE DEPARTMENT OF Foreign Affairs has issued a ‘do not travel’ warning for the whole of Italy – the highest possible level of advisory.
Irish citizens were earlier advised to avoid non-essential travel to the country after Italy went into lockdown last night in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The development puts Italy in the same category as countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. The advice for China, where Covid-19 first developed, remains at the ‘avoid non-essential travel’ level – with a ‘do not travel’ warning in place for the province of Hubei.
Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte last night extended internal travel restrictions imposed in the north to the entire country last night.
This unprecedented measure, applying to more than 60 million people, came into force after the country reported a death toll from the virus of 463. There were 9,172 confirmed cases in Italy as of last night.
Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have announced the full suspension of their flight schedules both into and out of Italy.
The latest Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) advice states that:
Travel between Italian regions, provinces and comuni (townships) is now prohibited with the exception of necessary travel for work purposes or emergencies.
It adds:
Irish citizens in Italy who are obliged to move around, are advised to carry a self-declaration form, available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior, that indicates their motive for doing so. This form may be requested by police. Everyone in Italy is required to have this form if requested.
At present, airports are open, and tourists returning home are permitted to travel to airports and to leave the country. Tourists should also complete this self-declaration form before travelling to the airport.
The elderly, and those with pre-existing medical conditions, have been advised by the Italian government to remain indoors.
Speaking this morning, before the advisory level was upgraded, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney confirmed the DFA was advising citizens to avoid travelling to the entire country.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is expected to raise the issue of flights and EU-wide responses at an emergency video conference of the European Council at 4pm today.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Coveney said the government “can’t control” banning air travel from Italy.
“The vast majority of confirmed cases have travelled to northern Italy and have brought it home with them… Really, the focus it’s about containment. But I think it’s inevitable that we move onto the delay phase,” he said.
He said other public gatherings, aside from the St Patrick’s Day parades which have been cancelled, will follow advice issued “based on the public threat”.
“We need to listen to experts. This response needs to be expert driven rather than [politicians] going on a solo run.”
Simon Coveney / TwitterIn light of internal developments in Italy my department is upgrading travel advice to Irish citizens, recommending against travel to whole of Italy.
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) March 10, 2020
The Taoiseach will today raise the issue of flights & further EU-wide responses at a meeting of the European Council. @COVID19
The quarantine measures extended to all 60 million people in Italy came into effect today.
Here are the main points of the government decree signed last night that brings the restrictions into effect in Italy until 3 April.
Don’t travel (unless it’s urgent)
From today, the movements of Italy’s population of 60 million are severely limited. Travel is only allowed for “urgent, verifiable work situations and emergencies or health reasons”.
People who have tested positive for Covid-19 must not leave their homes for any reason, while anyone with a fever or respiratory symptoms are strongly encouraged to stay at home and limit social contact, including with their doctor.
To avoid work-related travel, public and private companies have been urged to put their staff on leave.
Gatherings cancelled
The latest decree prohibits “all forms of gatherings in public places or sites open to the public” – going further than the rules that went into force over the weekend in large parts of northern Italy.
Sporting events of all levels and disciplines were cancelled, stopping play in the top-flight Serie A football league.
High-level professionals training for top national sports events and competitions organised by international bodies, such as the Olympic Games, may go ahead without spectators. All athletes, coaches and managers will undergo health checks.
Swimming pools, spas, sports halls and wellness centres must not operate, and ski resorts across the country have been shut.
Venues shuttered
To encourage people to stay in, bars and restaurants are only allowed to open between 6am and 6pm, and only if it is possible to keep a distance of at least a metre between customers.
All museums and cultural venues are closed, as well as nightclubs, cinemas, theatres and casinos, which have been shut since the weekend.
While supermarkets will remain open, large shopping centres and department stores must close on public holidays and the day before public holidays.
School’s out
Schools and universities are closed, and all exams have been cancelled.
Religious institutions will stay open, as long as people can stay a metre apart – but ceremonies such as marriages, baptisms and funerals are banned.
With reporting by AFP, Gráinne Ní Aodha and Daragh Brophy.
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Thank god we have a government that is on the ball………
Jesus the day after a whole country get put into lockdown our lads come out with this, I really do fear what’s coming down the road with this lot making the decisions.
@Micheal: to be fair to him he’s merely confirming it for the people that are clueless.
@Micheal: everything in government is reactionary. They don’t do preventative.
@Micheal: Really is mind boggling. They might as well pick up a morning newspaper and read it out on air.
@Micheal: One wonders what populist idea Mary Lou and her ilk come up with for the poor Restaurateurs and Travel agents!……..The money tree economics of SF/IRA.
@Micheal: There should be NO flights going to Italy ,why are they not cancelled?463 people have died already after contracting Coronavirus
There should be radical steps taken now to prevent spread here, especially taking into account the lack of capacity ,staff in our hospitals already eg we don’t have enough ICU units @255(one Expert said 400 but don’t know how many ICUs in private hospitals),not enough nurses,etc
I think it’s important for vulnerable people to be informed what are the towns,etc where people have tested positive for Convid19 so they can self isolate as a precaution and can get their meds and groceries delivered.
@Nuala Mc Namara: We read the article here yesterday : Opinion:A hands-off worry-about-it-later approach to containment is exactly what will help Convid19 spread’-Professor Sam McConkey
@Ronan Mc Namara: Government announced a €3B package to deal with coronavirus consequences eg €200m liquidity support fund for rescue and restructuring scheme for vulnerable but viable business according to ITs.
Also the Bank of Ireland on March 6th ‘ unveils coronavirus supports’ according to ITs.
Both are good policies.
It’s beyond despicable to try to score political points from such a very serious threat to Ireland,this should be beyond politcal rivalry!
@Nuala Mc Namara:
“It’s beyond despicable to try to score political points from such a very serious threat to Ireland,this should be beyond politcal rivalry!”
Tell that to Ronan McNamara above…
@Micheal: Just got off a Ryanair flight from Milan. Just turned my phone on to read this. Can’t believe they let us land. Nobody in baggage reclaim seems overly concerned.
@james dimaggio: you better hide!!!! thejournal hate commentators will be after you for being so selfish!
@brendan fitzsimons: As you can see above,that comment was addressed to him!!!!
Hopefully the “it’s just a flu” folks are starting to come around to the magnitude of this. Look at some Italian doctors accounts of what is happening. They are literally having to make blanket rules where they just let some people die because they don’t have the resources to help everyone, including plenty of people who need ICU for non virus reasons who aren’t showing in the stats. It’s incredibly grim. Ireland has 250 ICU beds in the country and they’re pretty much already full. There is nothing to suggest the country is ready to face this so drastic measures need to be taken now. The US seem to be going down the denial route and it’s going to go horribly wrong for them. For once please let’s not follow them.
@The Guru: but…but….but Trump says its basically the flu, its all the fault of fake news the those democrats.
Its going to come back to bite him big time.
@The Guru: source please that tells you ICU beds are full? They are not.
@Sharp Elsi Mate: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/no-capacity-in-main-dublin-hospitals-for-extra-patients-needing-intensive-care-1.4185784
There you are. Then again what would a department head of St Vincents Hospital know.
@The Guru: THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE DUBLIN. Not full in Limerick.
@The Guru: South Korea has already passed the peak and hasn’t even hit 10k cases. This is vastly blown out of proportion and to suggest 1.9 million will contract it is simply ludicrous.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/09/asia/south-korea-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html
@Sharp Elsi Mate: ok well then here’s a report covering the whole country: https://www.noca.ie/documents/irish-national-icu-audit-annual-report-2018
88% occupancy with some units at 96%. That’s over the course of the year and I’d imagine it’s worse in the colder months. I’m glad everything is great over in Limerick, perhaps you’ll share your secret with the rest of the world when it comes to it.
@The Guru: it’s just flu for most people it’s not even that
@Martin: that’s because they took drastic measures and already had a highly functioning health system. It has conducted hundreds of thousands of tests so people know quickly and easily if they have it and can stop the spread. You’re taking the example of a country who has responded perfectly and using that to say the whole thing is overblown. Don’t get obsessed over the 1.9m figure. Even if that’s a 20x exaggeration Ireland would still be screwed.
@The Guru: a lot of people will require oxygen therapy. Naive question, but is this something we can handle?
@Monty Donotno: If patients need oxygen at home eg COAD patients they can get oxygen cylinders etc.Apart from ICUs other wards can also have oxygen inputs above beds.
@Sharp Elsi Mate: THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE DUBLIN.
Give it a couple of months and there will be a lot less life!
@ed w: stop it ! It’s not and repeating that is utterly irresponsible .
@The Guru: it’s just a flu
@Nuala Mc Namara: its not oxygen it’s ventilation units which is different and requires specific equipment .
@The Guru: It’s the “Just a flu” merchants that will do the most damage. Many are aggressive in their denial.
@The Guru: You’re completely correct in your assessment BTW. Here’s the audit report complete with bed numbers and occupancy at the time of audit. See Page 27 https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/cspd/ncps/critical-care/critical-care-capacity-planning/national-adult-critical-care-planning-memo.pdf
@The Guru: To be honest the US government were in denial about the Second World War until Pearl Harbour , two years after the conflagration began. So their attitude hear with that idiot at the helm is no surprise.
@The Guru: To be honest the US government were in denial about the Second World War until Pearl Harbour , two years after the conflagration began. So their attitude here is no surprise.
@Isabel Oliveira: Monty mentioned oxygen therapy in his comment and I presumed that was BRS:basic respiratory support.These patients ‘do not necessarily need an ICU bed but are considered to need a HDU bed’(Irish National ICU Audit).
ARS Advance respiratory support means mechanical ventilation & normally requires management invICU bed(although patients ventilated long term via a tracheostomy may be managed in less acute environment)’
@Kevin Lynch: there was no 2nd WW for the Americans until Pearl Harbour.
A full week 2 late damage done Fine gael
@Tom o brien: according to an expert, ie not a journal commentator, the government have done everything right so far. But sure what would she know, she’s only a senior medic/virologist with WHO.
@Tom o brien: there has been no damage done yet.
It doesn’t take a mathematician to realise we are two to three weeks behind Italy right now.
@Peter J McCarthy: US seem to be upping their game regards testing. Would be hugely interesting to get a breakdown on all the tests that are happening here. Particularly where and based on contact tracing, symptoms or what?
Portugal shut down the flights to Italy yesterday and strict measures are now in place in areas of the north to slow the spread ( we have 39 cases so far). Mass gatherings are forbidden in those areas as are masses, weddings, etc . Provisional hospitals have been set up . More measures likely to follow today after call with EU.
Many confirmed patients develop pneumonia with 10% of confirmed cases requiring ventilation in ICU beds .
Studies in Italy show that there was an unusual number of pneumonia cases in late December indicating that the virus was probably in Europe by then.
Take all precautions you can, wash hands cough into a tissue or arm, maintain distance , avoid social events or packed confined spaces .
Please take this situation seriously and be safe .
@Isabel Oliveira: Covid-19 tests have also been extended to all those presenting with respiratory illnesses.
@Isabel Oliveira: yes it makes sense to test all those with respiratory issues. I too believe this covid 19 has been around a lot longer than they believe. It’s highly unlikely they would find the patient 0 or patient 100 even if they had mild symptoms. I’ve never seen a winter like this before, since Nov there have been an unusual amount of flu like illnesses including pneumonia. I know even in this house here about 4 out of 6 of us were sick with dry cough etc. It would be interesting if they were to test a number of the population for antibodies to covid 19 to see gas it been around much longer.
@Anna Marie O Brien: this winter coming up to Christmas was really bad . I took the flu shot in early October and still developed a horrible flu with high temperatures in late November, followed by respiratory infection for over 3 weeks that then landed me in hospital with heart complications after respiratory issue was resolved but still with a nagging dry cough . The Cardiologist and internist in hospital were baffled by persistent dry cough so much so they tested me for all types of possible causes and nothing . It’s Speculation on my part i know but I have wondered.
@Isabel Oliveira: Israel also quarantines all people arriving from abroad, irrespective of the country, for two weeks. I don’t know if that is necessary, but it certainly puts this country’s lack of effort into perspective.
@Joe Vlogs: Portuguese doctors are starting to issue statements , very level headed and calm but warning people to the seriousness of the virus made worse by the insufficient ICU ventilation beds & staff to deal with such s situation and we have far more ICU beds than Ireland together with requisitioned private hospitals and military hospitals . We’re being too bland here and I hope the government puts strict measures into place today as we are not in a position to receive large numbers of tourists this weekend , schools should be closed as well as universities and working remotely should be implemented for those who can . Self quarantines mandatory for those travelling in . We have no time for complacency.
@Joe Vlogs: The majority of international travel to Israel is from the US. Given the rise in the number of US cases Israel wanted to quarantine those travelling from there but didn’t want to offend it’s biggest ally by naming it specifically. Easiest way out was just issue a quarantine order for travelers from every country.
There’ll be a poll on the journal in a few weeks: how did you catch covid19?
A. Italy
B. Family
C. Community transmission
D. Healthcare facility
E. Other, don’t know and &nsbp
@FrontSeatDriver: And forget “How long did it take you to eat the family dog? “
Here in France, Alps area, we were told two weeks ago to bring our laptops home each night and to check our mails before coming into work in case the site is closed, and posters have been up advising about distance and cleanliness for over a month. All restaurants and shops have sanitizer gell for customer use, No one, well, most people are not even shaking hands, let alone kissing, and I still think France isn’t doing enough. Meanwhile in Ireland you are advised not to go to Italy…. But sure Italy can, or could, go to you. Effing marvelous…
@David Stapleton: the Irish govt are 6 weeks behind on this which will have devastating consequences.
@David Stapleton: what makes you think that all of those pro active policies by private companies are not being implemented by private companies here? You’re relating a private policy in one country with public policy in another country.
@DReynolds: no, I was saying that this is going on in the private sector because of government policies. Sorry it wasn’t clear. So, are Irish companies, whether by government writ or self motivation, doing anything similar?
@David Stapleton: had France stopped flights from Italy?
@Barry Hickey: yes, I believe they did from the infected regions. However closing the border is another matter.
@DReynolds: still no Reply, it was a simple question. Have Irish companies being proactive?
@Barry Hickey: just to be clear here, I am not happy with everything France has done or are doing. They are, in my opinion, still being too slow to react, but they have taken some steps, some proactive, some reactive. To beat this, countries need to be proactive. The time to “see how it goes” is gone.
Have a family member working in the HSE (CUH), they are being told absolutely nothing about what’s going on.
One of the staff has COPD and he has been given no advice or guidance in there.
They’re being told your working there at your risk so tough. Huge fear there atm.
I mean, why governament can’t control flights coming in to Ireland from Italy? Ban them from cloning into Irish Airspace and that’s it. Grow a pair Ireland.
@Krystian Brzezowski: *coming into Irish Airspace.
@Krystian Brzezowski: It could be cloning into Irish airspace. There’s a lot about this virus that doesn’t add up. Word from China is that it’s a American bio-weapon engineered to wage war. The reason Trump is so chilled about everything is they already have a vaccine!
@John Davitt: pmsl thats the best one yet
@John Davitt: If thats the case Trump and the US will have as many deaths on their hands as the Nazi’s did…
Stop listening to gobsh@tes
Impose restrictions already ffs
@Irish Snowden: if you need a government to tell you that, I fear for you. People need to take personal responsibility instead of commenting ffs on every article
@Dave Harris: i dont see where he was stating he needed anybody to tell him that, by imposing restrictions youre attempting to stop more coming from infected countries and no matter how much responsobility we have we cant be responsible for what is out of our control and in others’
@Daimhín De Naois: ..hands. If you dont see that then its you that we should fear for
@Dave Harris: restrictions for people coming in genius
The lack of leadership here is startling. Easy to be leader when all is good. First major crisis and our political elite collapse in face of decision making and is basically being forced bit by bit by public pressure.
Take the hit ban the flights from high risk areas, establish quaritine facilities based on 10x multiple figure of current cases.
Release non personal data movement data of confirmed cases (Israel doing this for very case) so that those exposed to it will identify and self quarantine quicker.
Prepare all state assets for lock down on order if required.
Emergency legislation to force quarantine on people if they refuse. All in this together.
I know it sounds like overkill but it’s preparation. We should not follow Italy’s timeline here we should learn from it.
Duh
Cheap holiday with no waiting in line anyone?
Hey didn’t we figure this one out weeks ago?
At least now you have a legitimate reason to ask for a refund based on government-issued travel advice if your airline refuses to refund you take them to the small claims court and publicise their refusal on social media .
Italy’s in a right state. Nearly half of all cases in hospital at the moment. https://lab.gedidigital.it/gedi-visual/2020/coronavirus-i-contagi-in-italia/
@Paraic: Come on Paraic try and be a little responsible, thats almost half of known cases. You know as well as I do there are likely to be a multiple of that unkown as of yet. This is serious enough without people trying to sensationalise and spread extra fear around.
Jaysas ya swear Italy was only place in the world that has it
@Alan Carthy: after China it’s the worst hit and we probably can’t believe everything about figures etc that’s coming out of China so it’s good to use Italy as a possible worst case scenario of what could happen here. I don’t really see where your issue is??
@Alan Carthy: No but it’s the epicentre of the virus in Europe!!
@Alan Carthy:
Read up on the Spanish Flu. Spain wasn’t the only country hit, the first hit, or even the worst hit. But the media focused on Spain because Spain was open about what was happening while other country leaders tried to keep everything hush hush, censored media, and gave no information.
Italy is doing a great job of dealing with this, they got hit first, and they did their best with the information they had. Meanwhile we’re stuck in a “wait and see” circus. We’ve failed to contain the spread and things will go really bad in 2 weeks.
I have a friend in Italy who moved from Ireland, when I asked if he was OK he said “don’t worry about me, what’s happening here will happen to you soon enough”
@Alan Carthy: it’s the epicentre of the virus in Europe, as someone already mentioned .. like Iran is the epicentre of the virus in countries in the Middle East. Better safe than sorry.
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/coronavirus-victims-to-be-immediately-buried-without-funeral-service-39031428.html
Although I understand this may be necessary,I find it incredibly sad that a family member could die alone in a hospital and be buried without the family, awful to contemplate.
Advise??? Just fnking ban travel to and from!
*claps slowly
DFA website still hasn’t been updated to reflect this new directive
These bungling incompetents are always 3 steps behind or in this case at least 3 weeks. The Minister for Health should resign, if we have a high mortality rate it’s on them.
And still 3 Ryanair flights today from Milan to Dublin
BA has just cancelled all flights from Italy into the uk, Ryanair and air Lingus need to follow suit ASAP.
Cancel flights!!!
Wow big call! The day after Conte puts Italy in lockdown.
Oh. Thank God they moved quickly on that!
But it’s okay for the Italians to come over here and spread it around.
Wow – fast reaction from the government. We can have every confidence in the leadership.
(Just going to count my loo rolls again…..)
I had a hacking cough in early January for three weeks felt rough as hell. no runny nose or sore throat which would be my usual symptoms. that was after a trip to the uk. hopefully had it!
Still no mandatory self-isolation for people coming here from Italy? UK announced it once Italy locked down Lombardy. At least one flight arrived here from Milan yesterday – there are flights from Rome, Milan and elsewhere still scheduled to arrive today. The people on these planes are not required to self-isolate once arriving here?
If Italy on lock down how are flights still leaving Milan!?
Are they for real? Finally got their heads out of the sand.
Weak
Not even the first race at Cheltenham and the horse has bolted.
Who took this picture of the Trevi fountain yesterday, hmm?
Now that the government have stepped in can schools get a full refund if they’ve booked through the school tour company. The stc offering a refund of 20% on a €550 holiday to Italy even though said country are on lockdown.
The horse bolted last weekend when FG gave thousands of northern Italians a big Cead mile Failte.
41.7bn to bail out casino banks and all the pain that entailed. 2bn of which 480ml is dedicated to saving lives.
The Spanish Flu outbreak in 1920
Coronavirus Outbreak In 2020
Two health emergencies, the one common element…
The Italians getting the blame for it at the time
Tell your boss that you’ll only fly BA
Just been told by my boss after protest I’m going to Italy. Ffs.
Y’all better stock up on prosecco and chianti now!!!
What are the Government going to do if all those thousands of Irish people come home from Cheltenham’s races .
Maybe we should all pull together and help anyone less Fortnite than us.. we can always go back to being ‘ right’ about everything after the virus has gone
I’m confused. Yemen? They don’t have the virus , yet .. or do they mean general safety wise?
@Dalya Al-Tulaihi: Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan are on the list because of regional conflicts. Italy is for Covid 19
Mamma Mia , that’s a spicy meatball
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