Italy issues travel ban for 3 more Balkan countries amid pandemic

Italy on Thursday imposed a travel ban on three more Balkan countries due to the coronavirus pandemic, the country's health minister said.

With the additions of Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, Italy now has 16 nations on its set of high-risk countries, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook.

Travelers, who had been in these countries within the last 14 days, will not be in a position to enter Italy.

The set of restricted countries now includes Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bosnia Herzegovina, Chile, Kuwait, North Macedonia, Moldova, Oman, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.

Since while it began with China last December, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed practically 585,000 lives in 188 countries and regions.

A lot more than 13.58 million cases have already been reported worldwide, while over 7.6 million patients have recovered so far, according to figures published by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.