Italian beauty therapist, 25, is stuck in Australia with just days left on her visa and no way home 

An Italian beauty therapist is stuck in Australia with just days left on her visa.

Francesca Ferrari, 25, is currently in Mooloolaba, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, as her 12-month working holiday visa draws to an end.

The traveller, whose family lives northern Italy where the virus has hit hardest, was in the process of booking flights to Milan last week when her homeland’s borders shut. 

Ms Ferrari is now stranded on the opposite side of the globe worried sick about her grandmother who is battling respiratory issues in an Italian hospital. 

‘My grandmother has been in hospital for two weeks, nobody can go to see her and we can’t hear her because she can’t use the phone,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

Francesca Ferrari (pictured), 25, is stuck in Australia as coronavirus has forced Italy’s borders shut and her visa nears its end 

‘She did the test for the virus when she entered the hospital, but we still don’t know the result. There are so many tests every day to do that they are sending them to every hospital in Italy. 

‘It is distressing not to know anything about loved ones in the hospital, to know that they are completely alone.’ 

Airlines around the globe have grounded their fleets as demand for travel falters.  

Ms Ferrari now fears she will be deported but has no idea where she would end up given the global travel situation. 

Her housemate, Lauren Hutton, who has been mediating Ms Ferrari’s language barrier with authorities, said the immigration department and the embassy had advised her to go to New Zealand where she could get a similar visa and wait it out. 

Alternatively, they said the European can pay $620 for a student visa to remain in Australia.

But she can not afford the fee. 

Ms Ferrari, who had worked at Glass House Brewery and on farms in the area, hopes the Australian government will implement temporary measures to help trapped tourists. 

Italy remains in lockdown as coronavirus rampages throughout the country, bombarding the health care system. Pictured is a deserted Piazza del Duomo with the Duomo di Milano  on the sixth day of an unprecedented lockdown on March 15, 2020 in Milan

Italy remains in lockdown as coronavirus rampages throughout the country, bombarding the health care system. Pictured is a deserted Piazza del Duomo with the Duomo di Milano  on the sixth day of an unprecedented lockdown on March 15, 2020 in Milan

‘There could be many solutions for this situation, the simplest is to extend the visa to all the people who are about to expire like me, at least until the waters calm down,’ she said.  

‘I think any government should take care of its foreigners if they find themselves in difficulty. Especially if you pay to enter the country.’

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 814

New South Wales: 382

Victoria: 178

Queensland: 144

Western Australia: 52 

South Australia: 42

Tasmania: 10

Australian Capital Territory: 4

Northern Territory: 2  

TOTAL CASES:  814

DEAD: 7

A Department of Home Affairs spokesman said non-citizens seeking to extend their stay should review the website and apply for another visa, and any application would be assessed ‘considering the COVID-19 enhanced border measures and an applicant’s individual circumstances’. 

The spokesman said applications should be made before the current visa expired, and if the current visa had a no further stay condition, a request to waive it could be made. 

The first option recommendation is now off the cards after New Zealand announced earlier this week that only permanent residents and citizens would be allowed to enter the country.

The Australian government announced on Thursday it would follow suit as nations worldwide batten down the hatches in a bid to limit the spread of the pandemic.  

On the same day, Italy’s coronavirus death toll hit 3,405, becoming the highest in the world as it surpassed figures in China, where the COVID-19 broke out in December last year.

The nation has become the epicentre in Europe with 41,035 recorded infections, more than half of the world’s positive cases. 

Qantas has grounded its international flights from late March as demand for the aviation industry plummets

Qantas has grounded its international flights from late March as demand for the aviation industry plummets

Ms Ferrari said Italy’s illness count escalated quickly and urged Australia to take precautions now to avoid the same fate.

‘In my country, Fidenza, in the province of Parma, more than 500 cases arrive at the emergency room every day,’ she said.

‘In hospitals they are tearing down the walls just to be able to put at least two more beds, equipment, respirators, masks and so on. 

‘The army is building military hospitals. The army trucks last night in Bergamo took away the coffins of the fallen, because there is no place for them in the churches.. I think Australia is not taking seriously what it should.

‘As long as he [Prime Minister Morrison] is on time, he should take serious precautions. We made the same mistake.’ 

So far in Australia there have been 835 confirmed cases including seven deaths.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk