The Italian region of Puglia has put Malta on its quarantine list, with arrivals having to self-quarantine for 14 days after a group of tourists tested positive for coronavirus following a trip to the island.
Anyone entering the southeastern region as of Wednesday will be subject to the new rules, Puglia regional president Michele Emiliano said. Travellers entering from Greece or Spain will also have to self-quarantine.
Six tourists who travelled to Malta this month tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home to Puglia’s capital Bari, health authorities there said on Monday.
Emiliano cited such incidents when announcing the rules, and said Greece, Spain and Malta were countries where the virus was currently spreading.
Self-test requirement in Emilia-Romagna: reports
Puglia is likely to be the first of two Italian regions to announce new restrictions for travellers from Malta: the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna will also issue new orders concerning Malta on Wednesday, according to Italian media.
News outlet La Reppublica said on Tuesday that the region would be requiring anyone flying in from Malta, Spain, Greece or Croatia to get themselves tested for COVID-19 within 24 hours.
The new restrictions would be announced on Wednesday, the news outlet said.
Growing concerns as cases rise
Malta had 440 active cases as of Tuesday, with 29 new cases discovered that day. Three weeks ago, on July 17, there were just three coronavirus patients left in the country.
The rapid increase in case numbers has led to the country shooting up the transmission charts which many countries are using to inform their decisions concerning travel restrictions.
Health sources said earlier this week that the virus’ R factor – the rate at which it was being transmitted – was above two.
Italy is Malta’s second-largest tourist market and the new rules imposed by Puglia and Emilia-Romagna are likely to be the most economically painful of the restrictions Malta has faced in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, Greece and Slovenia became the latest countries to put restrictions on travellers from Malta because of the surge of coronavirus cases on the island.
The island has already been taken off the safe lists of Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – all of which advise against non-essential travel and enforce self-isolation for visitors.
In the case of Lithuania, travellers from Malta will no longer be allowed to enter the country due to the rise in virus cases.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also recommended against all non-essential travel to Malta, although the US is currently not on Malta’s safe list.