While many of us presumed travel plans would be completely put on hold for the summer due to the global pandemic, many countries have opened their borders including Italy.
However, before you book your plane tickets to soak up the sun on the Italian Riviera, you should be aware there are visitors from 13 countries that are banned from visiting Italy – including three Middle Eastern countries – for the time being due to fears over COVID-19 spreading further.
The three Middle Eastern countries include Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman and the rest of the list includes Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, North Macedonia, Moldova, Panama and Peru.
Speaking on the decision, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said the move was to protect the sacrifices the Italian people have made through the last few months.
“Throughout the world, the pandemic has entered a more acute phase,” he said. “We cannot throw away the sacrifices made by Italians in recent months.”
Italy has been one of the worst-hit countries by the virus, becoming the first country outside of China to have recorded COVID-19 cases earlier this year.
However, the country hit their worst peak towards the end of March and daily numbers of COVID-19 cases have significantly dropped since then. Italy has had 242,827 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 13,303 of those still active and a total of 34,945 fatalities.
Meanwhile, in the UAE, there have been 54,050 confirmed cases, with 43,969 recoveries and 330 deaths.
