The Italian government on Monday urged citizens not to travel abroad unless strictly necessary, as a new wave of COVID-19 infections continues to spread across Europe and the United States.
"In light of the worsening epidemiological situation in Europe, the foreign ministry advised all fellow citizens to avoid foreign travel unless strictly necessary," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The current surge in COVID-19 cases in many European countries could mean further restrictions on movement are imposed "which could complicate returns to Italy," the statement warned.
"In the case of travel to non-European Union destinations, similar repatriation problems could arise, with a much more serious implications," the statement ended.
There are currently 542,789 positive cases of COVID-19 in Italy, an increase of 17,012 from Sunday, according to the national health institute (ISS). The regions seeing the sharpest spike in infections include Lombardy, Campania, Lazio and Tuscany, according to ISS.
