Italian Minister of Culture and Tourism Dario Franceschini did not say that the country's borders would be closed until the end of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic in a recent interview but merely noted that the border issue would depend on the further epidemiological situation and decisions of other nations, the Italian embassy in Moscow said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2020) Italian Minister of Culture and Tourism Dario Franceschini did not say that the country's borders would be closed until the end of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic in a recent interview but merely noted that the border issue would depend on the further epidemiological situation and decisions of other nations, the Italian embassy in Moscow said on Monday.
On Saturday, Franceschini said in an interview with La Repubblica newspaper that "there would be no international tourism in Italy this year." At the same time, the minister added that the country's museums and major attractions would resume operations in May.
"In connection with the reports by a number of Russian media about the alleged statement of Minister ... Franceschini regarding the closure of Italy's borders until the end of this year, we clarify that in Franceschini's interview published in the La Repubblica newspaper on April 25, the issue of shutting state borders by Italy was not raised. It was said that in general, the future of this issue would depend on the development of the epidemiological situation and decisions of individual states," the embassy said in a statement.
According to the statement, Franceschini noted that it was currently difficult to plan the resumption of international tourism in Italy in the near future. As a result, the country will have to focus on domestic tourism, encouraging its citizens to visit Italian sights.
The embassy also said that it hoped for the early resumption of international tourism.
Starting on May 4, the Italian authorities�will reopen access to public parks and allow outdoor sports, keeping in place a ban on gatherings both in public and private.
