Coronavirus: Italy's Prime Minister Extends Lockdown To Entire Country
Coronavirus: Italy's Prime Minister Extends Lockdown To Entire Country
Source: The Guardian
(17:35 EDT). Italy’s government has extended emergency measures across the entire country in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the country’s prime minister announced at a press conference late on Monday.
The country is struggling to contain Europe’s worst outbreak of Covid-19, which has claimed 463 lives and infected 9,172 people – and late on Monday announced its most drastic measures so far to deal with the crisis.
Giuseppe Conte told people to “stay at home,” as he banned all public gatherings – including Serie A football matches. Conte announced that internal travel restrictions in northern regions had been extended to cover the entire country and more than 60 million people.
“There is no more time,” announced Conte in a dramatic evening address. “I will take responsibility for these measures. Our future is in our hands.” “I am going to sign a decree that can be summarised as follows: I stay at home,” he said. “The whole of Italy will become a protected zone.”...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/09/coronavirus-italy-prime-minister-country-lockdown
All public events will be banned, cinemas, theatres, gyms, discos and pubs closed, and funerals, weddings and sporting events cancelled. All schools and universities will remain closed until 3 April.
On Monday, the number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy rose from 366 to 463. The total number of cases in Italy rose by 24% to 9,172, and of those originally infected, 724 had fully recovered. Some 733 people were in intensive care against a previous total of 650.
Conte stated, “The figures show we are experiencing a serious increase in infections, an increase in people hospitalized in intensive care – and an increase, unfortunately, in deaths. We need to change our lifestyle. We need to change it now. That’s why I have decided to adopt these hard measures.” ..More...
Also, BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673
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