Published 22:08 IST, March 14th 2020
Greece suspends all flights to from Italy amid Coronavirus outbreak
On March 13, Greece announced that it would be suspending all flights to and from Italy due to the rapidly growing number of coronavirus cases.
- World News
- 2 min read
After reporting 2 more COVID-19 related cases and as Coronavirus cases rapidly rise in Greece, the government suspended all flights to and fro from Italy. The two more deaths which were reported now take the Coronavirus death toll of the nation to three. According to reports both the deaths were men aged 67 and 90.
Ban flights to and from Italy
As per reports, the Health Ministry announced that both the recent victims had serious underlying health problems. Greece has reported a total of 190 coronavirus cases. Greece has already closed schools, bars, cafes and shopping malls. Earlier it had announced that it was cancelling all flight to and from northern Italy but now it will be extending that ban to southern Italy as well.
The exact date when the restrictions would go into effect were not specified. The deadly coronavirus that began in China's Wuhan province has been officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation. While the majority of reported cases are still present in mainland China, the virus has spread to multiple countries around the world and infected 1,50,054 people worldwide. The death toll from the virus stands at 5,617 worldwide.
China sends aid to Italy
Medical supplies, including face masks and respirators sent by China, have recently arrived in Italy. The supplies were sent by China to help Italy battle the growing coronavirus crisis there. Italy is the worst-hit European country with 17,660 reported cases and 1,266 total deaths.
According to reports, a team of nine Chinese doctors also arrived in Italy on March 12. They brought with themselves 30 tonnes of equipment on a medical flight that had been organised by the Chinese Red Cross. As per reports, the head of the Italian Red Cross, Francesco Rocca has said that Italy is going through a moment of great stress and one of great difficulty and therefore they are relieved to have this arrival of supplies.
(with inputs from agencies)
Updated 22:08 IST, March 14th 2020