An aircraft of the Italian airline Alitalia carrying passengers from the regions most affected by the epidemic of new coronavirus in Italy, was blocked when it landed in Mauritius, the Italian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
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The Italian authorities claim to be "in constant contact" with Alitalia in order to "provide assistance to the Italians on board". The plane that took off from Rome, transports about 300 people including sixty from Lombardy and Veneto who have been prohibited from disembarking, according to the Italian agency Ansa.
According to the Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera, the authorities in Mauritius initially told all passengers that they could disembark only if they agreed to be quarantined in hospitals. Finally, they renounced this draconian measure by letting all passengers disembark on the island without quarantine, with the exception of those coming from Lombardy and Veneto, adds the newspaper, which specifies that the plane must return to Italy in the afternoon.
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