COVID-19: Italy imposes five-day quarantine on UK visitors from Monday over fears of Delta variant | World news

Italy is introducing a mandatory five-day quarantine for UK visitors from Monday amid growing concerns over the Delta coronavirus variant.

They will also need to be tested for COVIDthe country’s Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Friday.

But restrictions will be relaxed for travelers from a number of other countries.

The move comes after figures show that the Delta variant, first identified in India, now accounts for almost all COVID cases in the UK.

Some 33,630 variant cases were recorded last week, according to data from Public Health England (PHE).

PHE said this marked a 79% increase in reported COVID cases each week.

The most recent data shows that “99% of cases sequenced and genotyped across the country” are the Delta variant, he added.

Mr Speranza made the announcement in a Facebook post, saying the five-day quarantine period with a swab requirement will apply to anyone coming from Britain.

But visitors from the United States, Canada, Japan and other states in the European Union can enter if they have a green pass, showing they are vaccinated or have recently tested negative.

The ban for people arriving from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will remain in place, Speranza said.

France, Austria and Germany have already introduced variable restrictions on people arriving from Britain.

According to PHE estimates, the Delta variant is 65% more transmissible than the Alpha (Kent) variant in households.

And the risk of being hospitalized with it is about double that of the Alpha variant.

However, health organizations have said that two doses of the vaccine still provide strong protection against both.

The World Health Organization …