Britons returning from Italy say the Government is not protecting people from coronavirus


Britons travelling back to the UK from coronavirus-ravaged Italy have criticised the Government for doing next to nothing to stop them potentially spreading the killer virus in Britain.

A couple flying into London from Venice last night claimed they were given forms to fill out in case health officials had to track them down if a passenger was diagnosed – but nobody collected the forms.

And a family who returned from northern Italy in half-term were reportedly told they did not need to self-isolate but, when one of them fell ill, only two were quarantined in a hospital to wait for test results which were eventually negative. The daughter was allowed to go to school.

Thousands of Brits returning from Italy have said they are confused and frustrated by the Government’s travel advice, with some passengers admitting they had no idea they were supposed to self-isolate at home for two weeks.

People have also been surprised to find they are still able to travel as normal, facing no health checks or questioning at the British border, despite the impending threat of a major coronavirus outbreak in the UK. 

Airlines including British Airways yesterday cancelled hundreds of flights to and from Italy until April, while easyJet grounded most of its services leaving thousands of customers stranded in the coronavirus-hit country.

Ryanair has cancelled all flights from March 14 until April 9, but has told thousands of Brits trapped in Italy they can switch their return flight to come home before Saturday.  

One British couple today told of their relief after they managed to escape Italy on ‘one of the last flights home’. Sam and Mark McVey, from Hertfordshire, had to fork out £600 and drive through the night to Turin.

Italy is now the worst-hit country outside of China – more than 10,000 people there have caught the illness and at least 631 have died. The UK has now recorded more than 450 cases and six patients have died.  

People flying into the UK from Gatwick from Italy said they were allowed to travel as normal – they will now be expected to isolate themselves at home for two weeks in case they have caught the coronavirus

British Airways has cancelled all of its flights to and from Italy because of the coronavirus outbreak there (Pictured, a BA arrivals board at Heathrow Airport)

British Airways has cancelled all of its flights to and from Italy because of the coronavirus outbreak there (Pictured, a BA arrivals board at Heathrow Airport)

At least 382 people in the UK have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and six have died

Experts say the UK – where the number of coronavirus cases started to take off last week – is just two weeks away from being in a situation as bad as Italy's

Experts say the UK – where the number of coronavirus cases started to take off last week – is just two weeks away from being in a situation as bad as Italy’s

IS THE UK HEADING FOR AN ITALIAN-STYLE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS? 

The UK could be heading straight for a coronavirus crisis like the one which has crippled Italy, leading experts have warned.

Italy last night put all of its 60million people into lockdown and banned movement between cities in a drastic bid to contain the outbreak, which has infected 9,000 people.

But one scientist tracking the outbreak in the UK said Britain is following the same trajectory and could end up in a similar situation as Italy within two weeks. 

The number of cases in Italy has rocketed from just three on February 21 to at least 9,172. While in the UK it has jumped from nine to 321.

Professor Mark Handley, at University College London, compared the rate of coronavirus infection in Italy, which is in crisis, to that in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, the US and Switzerland and found they're growing at the same rate

Professor Mark Handley, at University College London, compared the rate of coronavirus infection in Italy, which is in crisis, to that in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, the US and Switzerland and found they’re growing at the same rate

Denise Owens, who returned from Venice last night after a holiday with her husband, said there had been signs of precautions being taken but they were not followed through.

She told MailOnline: ‘While on the plane we all had to fill out forms so they could trace all passengers if one became ill.

‘I went to hand mine in on the plane but was told we had to hand them in inside the airport, but there was no-one to give these forms to. Nobody was interested. Mine is still in my bag.’

Another family who visited the north of Italy during February half-term said they were told they didn’t need to self-isolate when they came home.

Silvia Monchelato and her family, who have lived in London for 15 years, returned in the same week that Italy’s rampant outbreak started to spiral out of control.

They were told by NHS 111 that they did not need to isolate, she told MailOnline, but she and her son were taken into quarantine when he started to feel ill – but her daughter was sent back to school.

Mrs Monchelato, who is Italian but has had both her children in the UK, had been to Veneto, one of the northern Italian regions at the heart of the country’s outbreak and returned on February 26.

She called an ambulance when her son started to have trouble breathing. 

She said: ‘When [paramedics] arrived they told me to get off with my son and my daughter headed off to school. 

‘They took us to St Mary’s Hospital and kept us inside the vehicle for about two hours until a team came to test us for the coronavirus. 

‘After this, with security, masked medical staff [came and] took us inside the hospital to a cubicle and locked us inside for four days until the negative test result arrived. 

‘What if the test had been positive? My daughter who travelled with us went to school all week, free to infect others. 

‘The measures that the British government is taking are not at all logical, consistent or protective.’

People in Italy are facing increasingly  difficult trips home to the UK after British Airways and Jet2 yesterday announced they were cancelling all flights between the two countries.  

Anna De Luca, 30, who lives in Brighton, said: 'Even in Naples they did a check, and told us to stay one metre away from the next person. And then on the plane there was nothing. We weren’t given any information'

Carmine Loru, 39, who arrived at Gatwick on a flight from Florence said that he had been given no information about self-isolation

Anna De Luca (left) nor Carmine Loru (right) both flew home to England from Italy yesterday but said they weren’t given any information about the Government’s new rule that anyone returning must self-isolate for two weeks

Retired green-grocer Martin Rudd claimed the public hand-sanitizer pumps at Stansted Airport were empty and there was no up to date health advice when in the arrivals hall, when he arrived from Pisa this morning.

Retired greengrocer Martin Rudd arrived at Stansted from Pisa yesterday and said he was not tested but would now have to go into self-isolation

Ryanair will continue to fly as normal until Saturday – with customers in Italy able to fly home before it stops all international flights from the virus-hit nation until April 8.

EasyJet has cancelled most of its flights at Milan, Venice and Verona but is still flying between other parts of Italy and the UK. The airline said anyone who has not been contacted can assume their flight is scheduled as normal.

The budget airline also flies to England from airports in Bologna, Turin, Livorno, Ancona, Rome, Naples, Bari, Brindisi, Sicily and Sardinia. These services are not affected by cancellations, according to the firm’s website.

Vuelling is also running some flights. 

Italian airline Alitalia has stopped flying out of Milan Malpensa and limited flights from Milan Linate to only domestic routes, but it continues to fly internationally out of Rome.

The UK’s outbreak started in earnest last week when the number of confirmed patients more than doubled from 23 to 51 between Saturday, February 29, and Tuesday, March 3.

Government officials have decided not to move to the second stage of Prime Minster Boris Johnson’s coronavirus action plan, and remain in the first phase which focuses on trying to contain and stop the virus.

The number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the UK has risen to 382 and more than 26,000 people have been tested

The number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the UK has risen to 382 and more than 26,000 people have been tested

NHS CAN NOW TEST 10,000 PEOPLE FOR CORONAVIRUS EVERY DAY

NHS England has ramped up its coronavirus testing capacity so 10,000 swabs can be done every day as it braces for an explosion of cases. 

The health service is currently conducting around 1,500 daily tests.

By comparison, South Korea has been able to swab up to 15,000 patients every day for the virus despite having a population of 50million compared to Britain’s 66million. 

Currently there are around 100 testing centres in England and every sample has to be sent to one of 12 Public Health England laboratories.

It means patients must wait around 48 hours for test results to come back.

But now local NHS hospital labs are being equipped with test kits so they can conduct them on-site without having to send samples away. 

Most of the people tested should get a result back within 24 hours, according to PHE.

So far more than 26,000 tests have been conducted by public health officials in England, with 324 testing positive so far. The UK-wide total is 382 but more cases are expected later today.

They have, however, admitted that they expect a ‘significant’ outbreak to take hold in Britain. 

England’s deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, predicted ‘many thousands of people’ would get COVID-19.

Most people only get a mild illness and don’t need medical help, while others may be hospitalised and a small proportion will get pneumonia and die.

Dr Harries told Sky News: ‘We currently have relatively few cases here, which is why we are still in the containment phase [the first step of government action plan].

‘Obviously we will have significant numbers in a way in which the country is not used to.

‘This is the sort of thing that professionally we’re trained for and very rarely see, almost in a professional lifetime.

‘Large numbers of the population will become infected because it’s a naive population, nobody has got antibodies to this virus currently.

‘We will see many thousands of people infected by coronavirus, that’s what we’re seeing in other countries and the important thing for us is to make sure that we manage those infections.’ 

Engineer Anna De Luca, 30, who lives in Brighton and arrived at Gatwick yesterday, said: ‘There were no checks at all. So I said, I will take some responsibility and wear the mask – even if it’s useless. 

‘But even in Naples they did a check, and told us to stay one metre away from the next person. And then on the plane there was nothing. We weren’t given any information. 

‘I just asked a man working here, he said maybe you should phone 111, but there were no checks at all.’ 

A woman is pictured wearing a face mask on the London Underground. There have been more than 50 coronavirus cases diagnosed in London

A woman is pictured wearing a face mask on the London Underground. There have been more than 50 coronavirus cases diagnosed in London

Women wearing face masks stand in central London today. Officials have said masks probably don't protect against the COVID-19 virus, which is small enough to pass through the material

Women wearing face masks stand in central London today. Officials have said masks probably don’t protect against the COVID-19 virus, which is small enough to pass through the material

RYANAIR, BA AND JET2 CANCEL ALL FLIGHTS TO AND FROM ITALY UNTIL APRIL

Ryanair, British Airways and Jet2 have today cancelled hundreds of flights to and from Italy until April at the earliest and easyJet has also grounded most of its services leaving thousands of customers stranded in the coronavirus-hit country.

BA has axed its 60 flights a day to cities including Milan, Venice and Rome while Jet2 has gone even further and cancelled all its Italian trips for almost six weeks until April 26.

Ryanair today announced it had cancelled all flights from March 14 until April 9, but has told thousands of Brits trapped in Italy they can switch their return flight to come home before Saturday.

EasyJet has stopped the majority of its flights to northern Italy but planes will still fly from southern cities such as Rome and Naples despite a blanket travel ban imposed by the Italian government as deaths reached almost 100 per day yesterday.  

Carmine Loru, 39, who arrived at Gatwick on a flight from Florence, said that he had been given no information about self-isolation.

Mr Loru, whose family live in Florence, said: ‘There is a lot of paranoia in Italy, but here there is not even anybody checking us. 

‘I read on the BBC that I’m supposed to stay at home for 14 days, but nobody said anything about that on the plane. In Florence they didn’t tell us anything about what to do in London.’  

Retired greengrocer Martin Rudd claimed the public hand-sanitiser pumps at Stansted Airport were empty and there was no up to date health advice when in the arrivals hall when he arrived from Pisa yesterday. 

The 64-year-old said: ‘I’m in a high-risk group – I’m diabetic and I’ve had a triple heart by-pass – so I’m taking precautions.

‘The hand-sanitiser pumps are empty and the only information is on a notice board in the arrivals hall. There isn’t any one checking to see if people are unwell or taking anyone’s temperature.’

Mr Rudd, who had been on holiday in northern part of Italy but outside the original ‘Red Zone’ with his partner Linda Collis, booked an earlier flight after the Italian government announced a nationwide lock-down.

He said: ‘My son called warned us last night that travel restrictions were changing so I booked an earlier flight so we’ve come home this morning. In fact the plane was practically empty. There were on about 15 people on the flight.’

Mr Rudd said he was taking a taxi home and would stay indoors for the required 14 days in accordance with the latest advice from Public Health England.

He said: ‘I’ve got grandchildren so I don’t want to infect them. I’m well prepared. I’ve got lots of food in, everything I need.

‘I bought a load of hand sanitizer before we left, in fact I took six bottles with us to Italy and I’ve been cleaning my hands after touching anything.’

HOW CAN PEOPLE GET HOME FROM ITALY? 

WHAT DO I DO IF I’M TRAPPED IN ITALY? 

Ryanair is guaranteeing that all its customers in Italy can get a flight home before they stop going there for on Saturday until early April. Other airlines such as BA may also choose to send empty planes to Italy to evacuate passengers whose flights were cancelled today. 

The UK Government could also send planes like the ones used to repatriate people from China last month.

CAN PEOPLE STILL FLY HOME FROM ITALY TO THE UK?

Although a number of airlines, including British Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and WizzAir have cancelled some or all of their flights to and from Italy, Britons in the country can still fly home directly with relative ease.

Ryanair will continue to fly as normal until Saturday – with customers in Italy able to fly home before then if required.

EasyJet has cancelled most of its flights at Milan, Venice and Verona but is still flying between other parts of Italy and the UK. The airline said anyone who has not been contacted by it can assume their flight is scheduled as normal.

The budget airline also flies to England from airports in Bologna, Turin, Livorno, Ancona, Rome, Naples, Bari, Brindisi, Sicily and Sardinia. These services are not affected by cancellations, according to the firm’s website.

Vuelling is also running some flights. 

Italian airline Alitalia has stopped flying out of Milan Malpensa and limited flights from Milan Linate to only domestic routes, but it continues to fly internationally out of Rome. 

CAN PEOPLE TRAVEL OUT OF ITALY BY ROAD OR RAIL?

Austria has banned Italians from crossing its border but trains continue to run between the two countries. Staff are reportedly getting off at the border crossings and turning back.

Switzerland’s border is open and trains are still running, although Italian citizens face more detailed checks when passing into the country – they will be expected to produce work permits.

Slovenia has not closed the border but has set up health screening at checkpoints, and France’s border is also still open.

The border with Croatia is also still open and authorities said they would not close it unless it was decided by the EU. But people arriving from the virus-hit north could face two weeks of quarantine.

WHAT DOES ITALY’S LOCKDOWN MEAN FOR ITALIANS?

Italian citizens are being urged not to travel long distances around the country unless in emergencies, and are being prevented from flying abroad. 

The country now has more than 9,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and at least 463 people have died.

Checkpoints on roads and at terminals will reportedly be checking people’s paperwork to work out if they have good enough reasons to travel.

Public trains and buses will continue to run, although people are being urged not to use them unless they have to, and no airports have been closed yet.