That is the message from the Italian National Tourist Board amid the country’s ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Italy is one of the worst-affected countries beyond China; more than 2,500 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus have been confirmed, resulting in 79 deaths.
However, the majority of cases are confined to several regions in northern Italy – none of which are renowned tourist destinations.
Italian authorities have taken strong precautionary measures to isolate the infection, essentially sealing off 11 towns; 10 in Lombardy, and another in Veneto.
While the Foreign Office continues to advise against all but essential travel to all 11 affected towns, it has placed no restrictions on travel to the rest of the country.
Airlines, though, have reduced capacity on account of the outbreak, with Wizz Air becoming the latest on Wednesday (4 March) to trim Italy flight capacity.
The tourist board said Italian health authorities quickly introduced controls to monitor and contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
“Italy is a safe country; it is safe to live in Italy, and it is safe to travel to Italy,” said the tourist board.
“The adoption of extraordinary preventive actions, such as the temporary closure of several sites or the suspension of several events, represents cautionary measures that have nothing to do with the spreading of the virus throughout the Italian territory.
“In accordance with the data provided by the [Italian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to date only 0.05% of Italy is affected by extraordinary measures of temporary isolation of some Italian cities (equal to 0.1% of the total) aimed at avoiding the spread of the virus.
“The remainder of the country, including the Italian regions where the cities in temporary isolation are located, is safe and accessible. All services and activities for citizens and tourists are normally provided and the quality of life, for which Italy is famous worldwide, remains high.”
