Italy detected on Sunday (20.12.2020) a first case of contagion of a new strain of coronavirus, first identified in the United Kingdom and which could be more contagious, after deciding to suspend flights from that country.
In a statement issued at night, the Ministry of Health states that a patient infected by the new strain was identified in Italy at the Celio Military Hospital in Rome. The entity revealed that it found “the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome from an individual who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus [del nuevo coronavirus] found these last few weeks in the UK.”
The patient had recently returned from Britain by plane and he and his relatives are quarantined, according to the same source. Earlier, Italy had announced the suspension of flights from the United Kingdom.
“The UK launched an alert about a new form of COVID-19 that would be the result of a mutation of the virus. As a government we have a duty to protect Italians and for that reason” we will “sign with the Minister of Health a decree to suspend flights to the UK,” Luigi Di Maio, Foreign Minister, wrote on his Facebook account.
“I have signed a new order blocking flights from the UK and prohibiting the entry into Italy of people who have been there in the last 14 days,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in a statement.” Anyone in Italy from that territory must undergo an antigen or molecular test,” added the communiqué, which called for “as much prudence” as possible.
The very brief text of the order states that the decision enters into force on Sunday, but without indicating the time, and that it will be valid until 6 January.
