The 12-year-old girl reported to have contracted the first case of Coronavirus probably contracted the virus from Northern Italy, not from Rome, where she was travelling from, the health authorities told The Malta Independent.
The girl and her family, who are Italian but live in Malta, returned to the country following a holiday in Trentino in northern Italy on Tuesday, flying back from Rome.
The World Health Organisation notes that “affected areas” are considered those countries, provinces, territories or cities experiencing ongoing transmission of COVID-19, in contrast to areas reporting only imported cases.
Whilst Italy is listed as an ‘affected area’, the Ministry for Health has noted only the Northern part of Italy – Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, in the list of areas where non-essential travel should be avoided. Rome is not associated with these areas.
The Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci confirmed to this newsroom that high transmission is limited to the Northern areas of Italy. She also urged people not to travel to these areas, unless necessary, as they would be exposing themselves to higher risks.
She said that the fact that the girl passed through the airport in Rome is probably not how the virus was contracted but that it was probably contracted during her stay in Northern Italy.