All flights will be cancelled except two domestic services a day between Rome and Palermo or Catania, after Italy’s transport minister signed off on Monday on a request by Sicily’s regional president, Nello Musumeci, to suspend transport links.
A single train to Rome will run each day, while only cargo boats will operate.
Passenger ferries and road links – which rely on ferries to make the crossing – have been suspended.
People who commute across the Strait of Messina for work, health reasons and other exceptional needs will still be allowed to do so.
Police will be bolstering controls on anyone who crosses into Sicily, including those bringing cargo onto the island.
Boats and lorries carrying supplies will continue to operate.
Musumeci requested the travel ban after “more than 31,000 people” had travelled to Sicily in a matter of days.
Fear has been sparked that people who have left the poorer southern Italian regions to work in the wealthy north, which has been hit hardest by the outbreak, will attempt to travel to their hometowns or holiday houses to wait out the health emergency.
If travellers bring the coronavirus with them, underfunded health services in the south would struggle to cope with the strain of a widespread outbreak.
The island of Sardinia cut off most transport from the mainland on Saturday, except for passengers who can prove travel is essential.
Until March 25, any passengers entering or leaving the island must apply for permission at least 48 hours in advance.
As of Sunday evening, Sicily had reported 188 cases of the coronavirus, including two deaths.
Sardinia had reported 77 cases and two deaths.
