Italy closed all schools and universities and prepared other emergency measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Europe’s worst-hit country as the death toll and number of cases jumped.
The total number of dead in Italy rose to 107 after 28 people died of the highly contagious virus over the past 24 hours, the Civil Protection Agency said.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government released a decree this afternoon which told the nation, among other restrictions, that the public should refrain from the traditional Italian greeting of kissing each other on the cheek.
A later announcement confirmed that all sporting events will take place without fans present for at least the next month due to the virus outbreak.
A female tourist covers her face as she walks around the Colosseum in Rome, Italy today. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government is expected to release new rules today which will tell the nation they cannot kiss because of the virus
Operators of ‘Napoli Servizi’ sanitize the San Paolo stadium in Naples to prevent the dangers of contagion of Coronavirus, Naples, Italy today
High containment ambulances are pictured being taken to the emergency room of the Cotugno hospital in Naples where a patient is suffering from the coronavirus today
Revellers at the Venice Carnival last month kissing in the street. As of today Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government is expected to advise against such affection over coronavirus fears
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, left, and Italy’s Public Education Minister Lucia Azzolina speak during a press conference held at Rome’s Chigi Palace, following the Ministers cabinet meeting dedicated to the corinavirus crisis today
High bio-containment ambulances are pictured carrying victims from the emergency room of the Cotugno hospital in Naples where the patient suffering from Coronavirus COVID 19 virus, of Brescia origin, was transported to Ischia
Among the PM’s rules are the closure of cinemas and theatres, and telling Italians not to shake hands or hug each other and to avoid ‘direct physical contact with all people.’
Conte last night said the measures were needed to stop its health service from crumbling amid warnings the toll is more severe than currently known.
He said: ‘We are focused on taking all measures for direct containment or delaying the spread of the virus.
‘The health system risks going into overload, and we will have a problem with intensive care if an exponential crisis continues.’
Cases from Italy have been reported across the world.
And yesterday two groups of Italian tourists, totalling 15 people, were being held in isolation in India after testing positive for the virus.
The Netherlands last night became the latest country to advise against travelling to the worst affected areas of Italy, while Tunisia stopped ferry services.
Authorities in Rome have created two ‘red zones’ affecting 11 towns with 50,000 people in the wealthy Lombardy and Veneto regions in the north of the country. They are considering extending the zone to the city of Bergamo after a cluster of cases there.
Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said schools and universities all over the country would be closed from Thursday until at least March 15.
Only those in the northern regions most heavily affected by the epidemic have been closed so far.
The number of cases since the outbreak surfaced 13 days ago rose to 3,089 from 2,502 on Tuesday.
Of those who contracted the disease, about 3.5 per cent had died, the head of the agency, Angelo Borrelli, said.
A man looks at Raphael’s oil on wood panel, Madonna con il Bambino (Virgin with the Child), in Rome today
An elderly woman wears a face mask as she walks in central Rome today. The coronavirus is expected to cost Italy’s tourism sector £6.4billion in losses in the upcoming trimester
Two women aboard a bus wear face masks amid coronavirus fears in Rome, Italy today. Giovanni Rezza, the head of the infectious diseases department at the national health institute, yesterday said that schools were a key area to keep control of the virus
Mr Conte’s rules also order all major sporting events, including top flight Serie A soccer matches, to be played in empty stadiums.
All sporting events throughout the country must take place behind closed doors until April 3.
Schools and universities have been ordered to close until March 15.
That calls into question Italy’s Six Nations rugby match against England in Rome on March 14.
That match will either have to go ahead behind closed doors or be postponed.
Italy’s match against Ireland, which was scheduled for March 7, had already been postponed.
A man in a Milan store keeps a distance of one metre after the Italian government announced people should refrain from kissing, hugging, and shaking hands in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic
A student of the Milan’s Politecnico University studies wearing a protective in the university library, Milan, Italy today
An empty water bus after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy today
The entrance of the Vatican Museums is deserted due to the coronavirus emergency, Rome, Italy today
St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican is almost deserted due to the coronavirus emergency in Rome today
The Pope – who has tested negative for the virus after suffering cold-like symptoms – kissing a child in Bari, Italy, on February 23
The Italian soccer league’s governing body has yet to release a revised schedule but reports say the six Serie A soccer matches that were postponed last week will now be played this weekend.
That includes one of the biggest matches of the season – the Juventus-Inter game, known as the ‘Derby d’Italia’ or Italy’s derby.
The school closures, however, caused jubilation among some children and mixed reactions from parents.
‘I hoped for this decree because I feared an outbreak at school,’ said Massimiliano Del Ninno, father of a Rome primary school student.
‘Even if we are dealing with an age group that doesn’t seem to be at risk, they could have been carriers.’
Two young people wearing protective face masks kiss in central Rome today. The president of Italy’s higher health institute has advised people to stop the traditional greeting of kissing on the cheek as a part of an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Hugs should be suspended during social interactions for the time being, too. He also said people should frequently wash their hands, avoid crowded places and keep a distance of one to two metres from other people. People with respiratory conditions have been advised to stay at home
A man wearing a protective face mask to prevent contracting the coronavirus walks past the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy today
Men keep their distance whilst talking on the street in Milan, Italy, March 4, 2020. Giovanni Rezza, the head of the infectious diseases department at the national health institute, yesterday said that schools were a key area to keep control of the virus
A schoolteacher looks at his shuttered workplace in the small town of Bareggio near Milan – it has been closed since last month but today the government has rolled out the strict measure to every school and university in the country until mid-March
Clarissa Mazzei, a 30-year-old mother of three, called it ‘tragic … for the students, and also for the parents.’
Deputy Economy Minister Laura Castelli said the government was aware of the problems it would cause families and was preparing a directive to allow a parent to stay home from work to look after children.
The virus outbreak remains centred on the wealthy and populous region of Lombardy, around Milan, and the neighbouring regions of Veneto and Emilia Romagna, but cases are spreading around the whole of the Italian peninsula and Sicily.
Rome’s Spallanzani infections diseases hospital said it had 20 coronavirus patients, while others were being treated at home in and around Italy’s capital and largest city.
A woman wearing a protective face mask to prevent contracting the coronavirus rides her bicycle in Milan, Italy today
Primary school pupils in the ‘red zone’ area of San Fiorano where schools have already been closed – the closures are now to be rolled out to all schools and universities nationwide to stop the spread of COVID-19
A woman wearing a protective face mask to prevent contracting the coronavirus enters a subway station in Milan, Italy today
A healthcare professional wearing protective suit and healthcare mask checks the temperature on incoming people at the entrance of the Maugeri hospital in Pavia, northern Italy today
Emilia Romagna’s regional government said on Wednesday two of its members had tested positive and Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli is in self-imposed isolation after coming into contact with a patient, though he himself had tested negative.
The outbreak has heavily disrupted daily life in the north, with cinemas and museums closed in some regions and many events cancelled including fashion shows and trade fairs.
On Wednesday, the government instructed public sector managers to reorganise offices to help staff work from home.
Healthcare professionals wearing protective suits and healthcare masks check the temperature of people at the entrance of the Maugeri hospital in Pavia, northern Italy today
A view of a nearly-deserted Navona Square as fewer tourists than usual are seen in downtown Rome, Italy today. Italian authorities have mandated the closure of all schools and learning centers until mid-March in a bid to contain the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, which is gripping the country with over 3,000 infections and at least 100 deaths
People and tourists wear protective face masks in downtown Rome, Italy today. The president of Italy’s higher health institute has advised people to stop the traditional Italian greeting of kissing on the cheek as a part of the effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus
Italy’s chronically weak economic growth looks sure to suffer, with the tourist sector taking a huge hit from a wave of cancellations.
Industry lobby Confindustria said the country was in recession, forecasting a fall in gross domestic product in both the first and second quarters of this year.
Confturismo, the tourist industry’s confederation, said the sector was ‘on its knees.’
It forecast a drop of some 32 million in the number of Italian and foreign tourists in March-to-May, with a loss to the industry of about 7.4 billion euros ($8.23 billion).
Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri has promised tax breaks and other measures for the affected sectors worth 3.6 billion euros (£3.1billion).
A government source told Reuters on Wednesday this may be raised to 4.5 billion (£3.5billion), or 0.25 per cent of GDP.
The three northern regions in the ‘red zone’ – Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna – have already had their schools closed since last month.
Ten percent of virus patients in Italy were in intensive care with respiratory problems, the health chief of the Lombardy region in northern Italy has said.
Giulio Gallera said that they were almost exclusively over 65 years old and asked all elderly people in the region to leave home as little as possible for the next two weeks.
Giovanni Rezza, the head of the infectious diseases department at the national health institute, yesterday said that schools were a key area to keep control of the virus.
‘Not because children are vulnerable – they don’t suffer as much as adults – but they can transmit it to parents and grandparents,’ he said.
He also had a warning for countries like the UK where the virus is starting to spread, saying: ‘Be very careful and contain clusters as soon as possible.’
Officials in Italy also said it could take up to two weeks to know whether measures including quarantines in 11 northern towns were working.
Nearby in France the latest death was reported in the Oise department northeast of Paris, in the country’s most significant cluster.
With at least 212 cases, including 47 in the Oise, France is the third worst affected country in Europe after Italy and Germany.
The Louvre in Paris, however, re-opened today after it was closed from Sunday because staff had walked out over fears of the coronavirus.
In China, the number of new reported virus cases dropped again Tuesday, with just 125 new cases after a six-week low of 202 a day earlier.
It’s still by far the hardest-hit country, with 80,151 cases and 2,943 deaths.
The virus has been detected in at least 70 countries with 90,000 cases and 3,100 deaths.
The U.S.’ count of COVID-19 cases surpassed 100 in 11 states.
President Donald Trump and his Cabinet met with pharmaceutical executives Monday to discuss how to speed the search for a vaccine.