UPDATE: 11.45am [AEDT] Wednesday 11 March 2020
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that a spike in coronavirus cases over the past 48 hours in Italy, coupled with the country’s lockdown measures and new advice from Italy, has prompted Australia to expand its travel ban from 6pm [AEDT] tonight to include Italy.
As per other countries on Australia’s travel ban list, foreign nationals from Italy will now be denied entry to Australia as at 18:00 [AEDT] 11 March 2020. Australian citizens and permanent residents travelling from Italy will be able to enter but must isolate themselves for a 14-day period.
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The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) has updated its Smartraveller Advisory for Australians considering travel to Italy.
As at 10 March 2020, Smartraveller has upgraded its advice for Italy, in general, to ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ and ‘Do Not Travel’ for Lombardy and other provinces in the north, which include Milan and Venice.
Italian authorities have extended measures to restrict the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) across all of Italy. As a result, we now advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Italy. We recommend you do not travel to Lombardy and other provinces in the north, which include Milan and Venice.
Do not travel to the region of Lombardy and the provinces of:
Modena
Parma
Piacenza
Reggio nell’ Emilia
Rimini
Pesaro and Urbino
Alessandria
Asti
Novara
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Vercelli
Padova
Treviso
Venezia
Non-essential movement [in Italy] is limited, schools and universities are closed and all public gatherings and sports activities are cancelled. If you decide to stay in Italy, follow the advice of local authorities. You can still enter and leave Italy if you need to. Airports are open, but expect travel disruptions. Check with the embassy or consulate of the country you are travelling to or through for any entry or transit restrictions. Note there are enhanced health screening measures in place if you’re returning to Australia from Italy.
We now advise you to:
Reconsider your need to travel to Italy overall.
