As the hospital in Italy's first hotspot declares itself COVID-free for the first time, authorities are taking cautious action to avoid a second wave of coronavirus.
ADVERTISEMENTItaly has banned entry to arrivals from 13 countries deemed to be high risk on Friday amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus.
Travellers who have stayed or transited through any of the countries on the list - which are judged to have high COVID-19 infection rates - in the last 14 days will be now be denied entry into Italy.
Italian residents returning from these countries are being asked to self-isolate for two weeks.
Countries on the banned list include Brazil, Bangladesh, Chile, Peru and Bosnia.
Italian authorities are being cautious, wanting to avoid previous mistakes in dealing with the virus.
The ban comes as the intensive care unit at the Pope John XXIII hospital in Bergamo, which was one of the first hotspots of the virus in Europe, declared itself COVID-free since its first coronavirus case was admitted 138 days ago.
Elsewhere in Europe, Romania recorded a spike in coronavirus patients after recording its highest number of daily cases since the pandemic was declared.
Several cities, including the capital Bucharest, are being treated as virus hotspots.
Local authorities have urged Romanians to continue to follow social distancing rules and good hygiene practices but have ruled out enforcing new restrictions.
In Spain, face masks have been mandatory in all public spaces, including on the Balearic Islands, amid the discovery of dozens of localised outbreaks.
