Flights from the US are still flying to Italy even though officials quarantined several cities due to the coronavirus outbreak, and passengers returning stateside from the region will not be screened upon landing.

Italy is facing the worst coronavirus epidemic outside of China and on Sunday quarantined 16million people, banning citizens from entering or leaving northern cities including Milan, Venice, and Parma.

However, flights are still entering and exiting Italy and other parts of the world.

Passengers travelling to US airports from Italy won't be screened upon landing in the States as officials say travelers will be checked out by Italian officials.

The Centers for Disease Control states that in the US airports will conduct entry screening for travelers from China and Iran but not for people arriving from Italy and South Korea because those countries will do exit screenings, the Atlanta Airport revealed to passengers in a tweet on Sunday.

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The Atlanta Airport tweeted Sunday that passengers traveling from Italy or South Korea won't be screened upon landing in the states. Instead those passengers will go through exit screenings in those respective countries

Medical officers check the temperature of a traveler of a bus coming from several Italian cities in Salerno, Italy on Sunday

Italy is facing the worst coronavirus epidemic outside of China and on Sunday quarantined 16million people, banning people from entering or leaving northern cities including Milan, Venice, and Parma. Quarantined cities in Italy are pictured above in red

The Centers for Disease Control has declared a Level 3 Warning for Italy urging the public to avoid nonessential travel due to widespread community transmission.

As of Sunday the coronavirus death toll in Italy hit 366 and the confirmed number of cases in the country soared to 7,375.

Flights continue to enter and exit Milan's Linate airport despite the coronavirus crisis.

Italy's national carrier Alitalia said it would reduce the number of flights in and out of Milan but not stop them.

Delta and American Airlines have already both suspended flights to Italy's financial capital of Milan.

There's a stark difference in how the virus is being treated depending on country.

The Donald Trump administration has enhanced the screening of travelers from China and Iran and funneled them to enter the country through 11 airports.

David E. Short, deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs, said at an industry event this week that the Trump administration has agreements with South Korea and Italy to screen passengers in those countries before they leave those countries.

He said screening those travelers once they land in the US was determined to be 'not the most effective response', according to the Washington Post.

'Instead, what’s happening in those countries is a very enhanced level of pre-departure screening of passengers.'

A Trump administration official said that screening travelers from Italy and South Korea once they landed in the US was determined as 'not the most effective response'. As a result it was decided passengers should be exit screened upon leaving those countries. The Atlanta Airport, which tweeted out that announcement, pictured above

Many travelers took to Twitter to share stories about returning to America from the high risk countries with minimal to no screening. This Twitter user noted their family faced no screenings after landing in Atlanta from Italy

In South Korea, travelers go through three temperature checks and are thermal-screened when they arrive at the airport and again when passing through security.

Passengers must also fill out a health questionnaire and are examined by medical professionals, Short said.

Italy officials have a similar screening procedure.

On March 1, President Trump vowed that anyone returning from 'high risk countries' would be screened both before they boarded planes and once they had returned to the US.

On Monday, Vice President Pence said: 'Anyone traveling on a direct flight to the United States of America receives multiple screenings at all airports in Italy and South Korea.'

DailyMail.com has contacted the State Department, as well as LAX, Chicago's O'Hare and JFK airports for comment in the wake of the vast Italian lockdown across a swath of its wealthy north on Sunday.

Women wearing face masks disinfect their hands in central Piazza Venezia, in Rome, Sunday

A person has his temperature checked at the entrance of the Juventus stadium

The quarantine in Italy started to take effect on Sunday and will last through April 3.

'This is a national emergency,' Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, signing the law overnight. 'Our objectives are twofold: to contain the spread of infections — we can’t afford it — and we have to take action to prevent the overloading of our hospitals.'

Around 50,000 US citizens are thought to currently reside in the country. It is not clear if the US government is developing any plans to bring them home.

A spokesman for JFK told DailyMail.com: 'We are providing all necessary support for the screening being carried out by @CDCgov & @CBP of passengers who may have been exposed to #coronavirus & ensuing referrals for quarantine in conjunction with state & city health authorities.'

A spokesman for LAX said the decision to screen is one taken by the CDC and refused to comment on whether the process is happening for those returning from Italy at the airport.

The CDC have issued a Level 3 warning - their highest - to avoid all nonessential travel. They say on their website: 'To slow the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) into the United States, CDC is working with state and local public health partners to implement after-travel health precautions.

'Depending on your travel history, you will be asked to stay home for a period of 14 days from the time you left an area with widespread or ongoing community spread (Level 3 Travel Health Notice).'

Trump had said last Saturday that travelers entering the United States from Italy, South Korea and Iran will face new restrictions.

But as of Friday it was reported customs agencies were still not properly screening travelers arriving in the US from the coronavirus hot-spot countries, with scores of passengers saying they're able to saunter through major airports like JFK and LAX.

Many travelers took to Twitter to share stories about returning to America from the high-risk countries with minimal to no screening. Many said the only question they were asked was if they had traveled recently to China.

'Just had family return from Italy, landed in Atlanta. They had their temperatures taken in Rome before boarding, but nothing upon arrival home. Not even a single question about where they had traveled in Italy. Nada,' Twitter user Joshua Frank posted.

Americans currently in locked-down northern Italy are free to fly home amid ongoing confusion as to whether they will be screened at US airports, put into quarantine or allowed to travel to their final destination without any checks on US soil

To contain the outbreak in China, the government quarantined millions of people. Italy has announced similar measures, locking down 16million people in the north of the country. The Colosseum, pictured, will be closed following the government's new prevention measures

In addition to fears over how flights are being screened, there is growing criticism of the federal government's response to testing.

On Friday, it was revealed a father and his sons tested positive for coronavirus in a Los Angeles suburb after a skiing trip to Italy.

They were part of a group of about 15 that traveled back to the United States on February 27 after visiting Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomite Mountains.

Italy’s total known number of COVID-19 cases crept past that of South Korea, becoming the country with the second-highest number of infections Sunday after China.

Italian government authorities say the country now has 7,375 cases. That is 62 more than South Korea.

It was announced Sunday that the Vatican is shutting down its museums, which include access to the Sistine Chapel, until April 3. The Italian government’s decree also shut down outdoor sites like Pompeii’s archaeological ruins.

The new measures say people should not enter or leave Lombardy, Italy's richest region, as well as 14 provinces in four other regions, including the cities of Venice, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Rimini.

'There will be no movement in or out of these areas, or within them, unless for proven, work-related reasons, emergencies or health reasons,' Conte told a news conference in the middle of the night after hours of confusion over his plans.

Center of Milan deserted after the law decree passed by the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte which turns the Lombardy Region and 14 other Italian provinces into a red zone

Italy’s known number of COVID-19 cases crept past that of South Korea, becoming the country with the second-highest number of infections Sunday after China

The US government issued its strongest travel warning so far last Sunday, advising Americans against any travel to two regions in northern Italy that have been hard hit by the virus that first emerged in China in December.

But it remains a level 3 warning to 'reconsider travel' to the rest of the country, advice that has not been updated since February.

Tourism officials said an earlier U.S. travel warning covering all of Italy was potentially calamitous to the industry, which represents 13 per cent of gross domestic product in a country famed for its world-class museums, archaeological sites, art cities and natural beauty.

More than 5.6 million Americans visit Italy every year, representing 9 per cent of foreign tourists and the second-largest national group behind Germans, according to the most recent statistics.