Italy will enforce mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals from Paris and several other French regions amid a surge in new cases of the disease in France, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Monday
ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) Italy will enforce mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals from Paris and several other French regions amid a surge in new cases of the disease in France, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Monday.
"I have signed a new decree which states that mandatory tests for COVID-19, either molecular or antigen, will be required for arrivals from Paris and other regions of France, where there is a high rate of infection," Speranza was quoted as saying in a Ministry of Health statement.
The mandatory testing will apply to arrivals from seven French regions, including the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, which includes the cities of Marseille and Nice.
Speranza noted that the ongoing epidemiological situation in Europe, which has seen many countries experience a rapid rise in new cases since the start of September, was concerning.
"Today, the situation in Italy is better than in other countries, but a great deal of caution is still needed, so as to not devalue the sacrifices made to date," the health minister said.
France broke its single-day record for new COVID-19 cases on three consecutive days on Thursday through Saturday, with 13,125 new positive tests being registered on the latter by the country's Public Health Agency.
Italy was the first European epicenter of the disease, however, only a moderate rise in daily new cases has been observed there since mid-August. On Saturday, Italian public health officials reported that 1,587 new positive tests were registered over the preceding 24 hours.
