Coronavirus: Italy Quarantines 16 Million People

Italy has placed up to 16 million people under quarantine as it battles to contain the spread of coronavirus, Covid-19.

Anyone living in Lombardy and 14 other central and northern provinces will need special permission to travel. Milan and Venice are both affected.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also announced the closure of schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the whole country.

The measures, the most radical taken outside China, will last until April 3.

Italy has seen the largest number of coronavirus infections in Europe, with the number of confirmed cases jumping by more than 1,200 to 5,883 on Saturday.

The strict new quarantine measures affect a quarter of the Italian population and center on the rich northern part of the country that powers its economy.

The death toll in Italy has passed 230, with officials reporting more than 36 deaths in 24 hours.

The health system is under immense strain in Lombardy, a northern region of 10 million people, where people are being treated in hospital corridors.

The same restrictions apply to 14 provinces: Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, Alessandria, Asti, Novara, Verbano Cusio Ossola, Vercelli, Padua, Treviso and Venice.

“There will be no movement in or out of these areas, or within them, unless for proven work-related reasons, emergencies or health reasons,” Conte told reporters.