Italy has confirmed that it will shut all schools from Thursday for 10 days as it battles to contain the Covid-19 virus outbreak. And all professional sport, including football matches, will be played behind closed doors for a month.
A total of 107 people have now been killed by the Covid-19 virus in Italy, which has the most serious outbreak in Europe.
Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte said the health service risked being overwhelmed. Most of the more than 3,000 cases are in the north but others have been confirmed in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions.
“The situation is changing very quickly… What’s clear is that we have not yet reached the peak of the outbreak,” Jens Spahn said.
Italy’s death toll from the virus had jumped by 28 to 107, the Civil Protection Agency said on Wednesday. Most of the deaths have been in the Lombardy region around Milan, and in northern areas near Bologna and Venice.
Earlier measures including the quarantine of 11 towns near Milan with a combined population of 50,000 have failed to stop the spread of infections.
Italy is now also considering closing cinemas and theatres and banning public events, Reuters news agency reported, quoting a draft government decree.
The decree also tells Italians to avoid hugging and shaking hands as much as possible.
Confirmed cases have been reported in 81 countries, with Italy, Iran and South Korea emerging as hotspots outside China.
Photos credit to : thehill |