Health

Albania halts schools, Italy flights, ferries over coronavirus


TIRANA (Reuters) – Albania reported its first coronavirus infections on Monday – a man who returned from Italy and infected his father, prompting the government to shut down schools for two weeks and cancel flight and ferry services to Italy until April 3.

The 28-year-old man and his 54-year-old father, who live in the capital Tirana, were in stable condition without complications, the health ministry said, as it began tracking about two dozen persons they had been in close contact with.

“Our measures today will be…to suspend direct flights or (ferry) travel from northern Italy and practically from all red zones that have been isolated completely (in Italy) until April 3, and to shut down schools for two weeks…,” Prime Minister Edi Rama told an emergency cabinet meeting.

Anyone entering Albania from quarantined areas of Italy, which has suffered Europe’s deadliest outbreak of coronavirus, will have to self-isolate and face punishment if they do not do so, Health Minister Ogerta Manastirliu said.

Rama said authorities had also ordered cancellations of all large public gatherings including cultural events and were asking sporting federations to cancel scheduled matches.

More than 400,000 Albanians live in Italy, Albania’s main trading partner, across the Adriatic Sea.

Other neighbors of Italy also took steps to curb the spread of the virus, with Switzerland announcing checks of Italian commuters’ Swiss work permits and Austria saying it plans spot health checks of people crossing its southern border.

Albania’s garments industry is also been hard hit by the coronavirus crisis as its Italian contractors are having trouble importing fabrics from China, where the epidemic began, and placed no orders over the past few weeks.

Reporting by Benet Koleka; Editing by Mark Heinrich



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