Ambassador of Italy to Serbia H.E. Carlo Lo Cascio issued a statement that there is no room to panic about cases of coronavirus in Italy.
“There is no reason to be too upset. The situation is under control. The Italian Government reacted in a timely manner to stop the spread of the infection by taking, in a very efficient manner, all possible protective measures in 11 municipalities in northern Italy.”
Most people who have been found to have the coronavirus are concentrated in this area. Areas subject to restrictive measures represent only 0.01% of the Italian territory and relate to only 0.089% of the population. In these areas, persons are under constant surveillance, the vast majority of those who are positive for the virus are feeling well, some of them have already gone through a quarantine period and are considered safe,” the ambassador said.
“We understand the concerns that have arisen from the news coming from Italy, but most of our country is not affected by the virus or subject to restrictive measures. I remind you that it is possible to travel to as many as 7904 cities in Italy, with the exception of 11. There is, therefore, no appropriate advice to travel to entire regions in Italy.
Doctors, medical staff and researchers are doing their best, police forces guarantee security, so there is no reason for unnecessary panic,” the ambassador said.
Ambassador states that there is excellent cooperation between the Italian and Serbian authorities regarding the coronavirus, which also shows the assistance offered by Italy in the evacuation of a Serbian citizen from a Diamond Princess cruiser in Japan.
Ambassador Lo Cascio adds: “We understand the procedure of the Serbian authorities who advised that they not only travel in areas where our Government’s restrictive measures apply. To my knowledge, flights from Italy and to Italy take place regularly, and passengers board and disembark without any problems. Of course, with controls that are certainly not invasive.”
“It is true,” the ambassador concludes, “that this is a completely new situation, but we are a strong and reliable country with an excellent healthcare system and civil protection known throughout the world. We have the resources to emerge from this challenge as winners, which is why our approach is based on maximum transparency and accountability to our partners and surrounding countries, from which we expect solidarity and cooperation. “