Italy travel advice: Is it safe to visit amid coronavirus fears?

The European country worst affected by the coronavirus has drastically increased its lockdown measures

Italy currently has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus patients within Europe.

Up to Sunday 8 March, a total of 7,375 people have tested positive for the virus, also known as Covid-19, while 366 have died.

In response, the Italian government has introduced drastic new "civil protection measures". From 8 March, the authorities have extended the area of isolation to cover the whole of the Lombardy region and the provinces of Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Rimini (all in Emilia Romagna); Pesaro e Urbino (in Marche); Alessandria, Asti, Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Vercelli (all in Piemonte); and Padova. Treviso and Venezia (in Veneto).

The Foreign Office has updated its advice but still warns against all but essential travel only to Vo’ Euganeo in Veneto and 10 small towns in Lombardy: Codogno, Castiglione d’Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano. These are all off the normal tourism trail.

Many readers have contacted The Independent to ask about their rights if they decide to cancel trips to Italy.

At present, the Foreign Office does not advise against travel to Italy – except for the aforementioned towns. Therefore it is assumed that holiday trips can continue as normal. But any visitor to Italy is urged to self-isolate if they return with any symptoms of Covid-19, including shortness of breath, fever and a cough.

If you do want to cancel a holiday, you will likely lose most or all of your money – unless it's to one of the towns on lockdown.

In Asia, the Foreign Office is now warning against “against all but essential travel to Daegu and Cheongdo" in South Korea.

The government in Seoul has designated the cities as “special care zones” following a growing number of cases of coronavirus.

The FCO also warns that Covid-19 “may cause more severe symptoms in older people, and those with pre-existing medical conditions”.

The same warning applies to Japan. Meanwhile the US Centers for Disease Control is warning American visitors to Japan: “Older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel.”

The Department of Health has revealed that only nine of the 6,324 people tested for the virus so far in the UK have been found to be carrying it. This represents one-seventh of one per cent of the total. These figures do not yet include the confirmed cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.