MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2020) The measures taken by Italy against the new coronavirus disease seem to be effective at the moment and it would be a mistake to cancel trips, the Italian Consul General to Russia, Francesco Forte, told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"If the measures taken by the government some time ago to this [coronavirus] emergency situation, which affected other countries, not only Italy, are as effective and people cancel their trips, it will be a mistake. Because the measures taken by Italy are effective. Of course, we are dealing with the virus, and we don't know if it will continue to develop. But at the moment it seems to me that the situation is in general under control," Forte said.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy has risen dramatically in recent days. On Saturday, health officials reported 79 cases in the European country. That number has since risen to 400, and 12 people have died after contracting the disease.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry advised that citizens refrained from traveling to Italy, as well as South Korea and Iran.
So far, the disease has infected over 81,000 people worldwide with the death toll of over 2,700 people. More than 30,000 people have been cured, including over 2,600 people who have recovered in the last 24 hours.
