The Ambassador of Italy to Belgrade, Carlo Lo Cascio, has invited everyone not to panic because of coronavirus cases in Italy.
“There is no reason for alarm. The situation is under control. The Italian Government intervened promptly to contain the spread of the infection adopting every possible precautionary measure, enacted very effectively in the area of the two outbreaks (11 municipalities in the northern Italy, more precisely in a very restricted area around Lodi, in Lombardia Region, and in Veneto Region).
Most people with coronavirus are concentrated in this area. Restrictive measures concern therefore only 0.05% of the Italian territory and only 0.089% of the population.
In these areas people are constantly monitored, the vast majority of those who have been found positive are in good health, some of them have already concluded the quarantine period and are considered safe”, said the Ambassador.
“We understand the concern generated by the news that come from Italy, but most of our country is not affected by the virus, nor is affected by restrictive measures. I remind that is possible to travel normally in 7904 municipalities in Italy with the sole exception of the aforementioned 11. Therefore it is inappropriate suggesting not to travel in some Italian regions.
Doctors, nurses, researchers are doing their utmost, the police forces guarantee safety. Therefore there is no reason for unnecessary alarmism”, recalled the Ambassador.
According to Ambassador Lo Cascio, the collaboration between Italian and Serbian authorities is excellent, as it is also shown by the assistance Italy offered for the evacuation of the Serbian citizen from the “Diamond Princess” cruise in Japan.
Ambassador Lo Cascio added that “we understand what has been done by the Serbian Foreign Ministry which has suggested to avoid travelling only to those areas that are subjected to restrictive measures by our Government.” “I recall that flights to and from Italy continue to take place regularly and that passengers land and leave without any problem. There are of course checks but they are far from being invasive.”
“It is true,” concluded the Ambassador, “that this is a completely new situation but we are a strong, reliable country with an excellent health system and a civil protection department known all over the world. We have the resources to overcome this challenge and for this reason too we have adopted an approach inspired by maximum transparency and responsibility with our partners and neighboring countries from which we expect solidarity and collaboration”.
This post is also available in: Italiano