Italy coronavirus woes: Filipinos told to limit movements, adhere to protocol

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Italy has advised the Filipino community to limit movements and to follow the rules and protocol set by the Italian government.

The embassy’s advisory on Tuesday was issued after Italy was placed on lockdown after cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country soared in the previous days.

“Following the statement of Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte on 09 March 2020, the Embassy of the Philippines in Rome wishes to inform the members of the Filipino community in Italy that the Italian Government has restricted the movements of persons in the whole country due to the COVID-19 emergency,” the embassy said.

“Everyone is advised to limit personal movements except for those allowed by the local authorities i.e. for work needs, situations of necessity and health reason. Italian law enforcement authorities can conduct checks on individuals to inquire on the reasons of their movements,”it added.

Filipinos were also advised to only go to the embassy for emergency reasons.

The embassy said it is implementing an appointment system to avail of emergency consular services.

“The Embassy encourages all Filipinos to monitor official government statements for any updates on these new measures,” the embassy said.

“The Embassy calls on all Filipinos to be properly informed, maintain their health and stay safe,” it added.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), there are over 160,000 Filipinos in Italy.

GSG