Australia bans travellers from Italy amid coronavirus fears

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday announced a ban on travellers arriving from Italy, where authorities are battling with a spiralling outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The move came after Rome government put in place severe restrictions on domestic travel. As of Tuesday, Italy had the most cases of the virus outside of China and had recorded more than 460 deaths and over 10,000 infections.

Starting Wednesday evening, all non-Australian residents travelling from Italy will be banned from entering the country and returning Australian residents will have to be quarantined for 14 days.

Morrison also announced a 2.4-billion-Australian-dollar (1.56-billion-dollar) health funding package that would focus on virus testing and “looking after elderly and Indigenous Australians,” he said in a press conference Wednesday.

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Australia has recorded more than 100 cases of the virus so far and three deaths, according to the latest government statistics.

Several high schools and university campuses have been shut down and travel bans have already been implemented with China, South Korea and Iran.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said 20,000 people have been tested for the virus.

Australia’s popular winter solstice arts festival Dark Mofo, which attracts well over 100,000 visitors each June to Tasmania, has been cancelled as a result of the virus outbreak, organizers said on Wednesday.

The festival is reliant on millions of dollars of ticket revenue, which organizers said they would not be able to make up amid public uncertainty, but they will move the current program to June next year.

Meanwhile, South Korea reported another increase in infections, with figures on Wednesday showing 242 new cases and six more deaths – bringing the total cases to 7,755 and the death toll up to 60.

The majority of the cases – including 149 of the latest ones – were concentrated in the south-eastern city of Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Most of the infections are linked to followers of a Christian sect in Daegu, which has a population of around 2.5 million, and to a hospital in Cheongdo.

China reported 24 new infections and 22 deaths over the past day, bringing up the death toll to 3,158 and the total number of infections to 80,778, according to the National Health Commission. (dpa)