British people returning from trips to northern Italy are
being told to self-isolate themselves for a fortnight when they get back to the
UK over fears of the growing number of coronavirus cases being reported in the
country.
The Italian government has introduced lock-down measures on
several small towns, particularly in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, while many
public and private events have been cancelled. Italy has the largest number of
cases of coronavirus in Europe and at least seven people have died.
As a result, health secretary Matt Hancock has said travellers
returning from anywhere north of Pisa should stay at home for 14 days if they
show any signs of infection. The same advice applies to anyone who has recently
come back from the quarantined Italian towns, even if they are not showing any symptoms.
The advice is now the same for those returning to the UK
from many Asian countries, where the virus – now named Covid-19 – is most
prevalent.
However, Hancock added that there are no plans to stop
flights to and from Italy.