The Ministry of Foreign Affairs amended travel advice for a handful of European countries on Monday evening. Color-coded orange will apply for Italy, Austria and parts of Portugal later this week, while travel advice to the Greek and Canary Islands will be relaxed on Tuesday.
All travel advice has been adjusted due to an exacerbated or reduced level of contamination. Dutch people who still travel to areas for which the color code ‘orange’ applies for that reason, are urgently advised to go into self-quarantine for ten days when they return to the Netherlands.
Due to the more flexible travel advice, the color code yellow applies throughout Greece. On September 8, the travel advice for almost all Greek islands was tightened, except for the Peloponnese peninsula and the Greek mainland. According to the ministry and the RIVM, the contamination level was so low that unnecessary journeys could take place.
The Spanish Canary Islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura were put on ‘orange’ more than two months ago, after the number of infections in Spain started to increase at a rapid pace. The southern European country still has no grip on the virus and is threatening a curfew that could last until the beginning of May next year. Last week, between 15,000 and 20,000 positive tests were reported per day.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) seem to have established that the corona virus is mainly circulating on the Spanish mainland. The level of infection on the islands is so low that the travel advice could be relaxed, a spokesperson confirms after reporting from The Telegraph.
From Wednesday Austria, Italy and parts of Portugal ‘orange’
The tightened travel advice for Austria, Italy and the north of Portugal will take effect on Wednesday. In the latter two countries, it applies at midnight, while Austria is set to ‘orange’ at 5 p.m. that day.
The number of positive tests has increased rapidly in the three countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains. “In addition, the travel advice to Italy has been adjusted in part because the Italian government has imposed strict measures.”
On Monday, all cinemas, theaters, gyms and swimming pools in Italy closed, while the closing time of restaurants and cafes was brought forward to 6 p.m. Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte wants to “do everything possible to avoid a complete lockdown.”
In Portugal, color code ‘orange’ was already active in the region around Lisbon and the large city of Porto. The northern regions of Felgueiras, Lousada and Paços de Ferreira are now being added to this, partly because local municipalities have obliged residents to stay at home between 23 and 29 October.
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