Italy is taking more stringent measures against the corona virus: Prime Minister Conte has announced that it will seal off larger areas in the north of the country. More than ten million people are affected.
Italy is blocking larger areas in the north of the country in the fight against the spread of the novel corona virus. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced this early in the morning. The Lombardy region and 14 provinces are affected by the measures. These are Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, Alessandria, Asti, Novara, Verbano Cusio Ossola, Vercelli, Padua, Treviso and Venice, said Conte. In addition to the tourist magnet Venice, the economic metropolis of Milan is also affected.
Entry and exit bans affect more than ten million people in the middle of the country. This significantly expands the so-called red zone in Italy. Several smaller areas had already been cordoned off in February.
Italy is the country with the most confirmed Sars-CoV-2 infections in Europe. The number of infected and dead people is increasing steadily despite extensive countermeasures. By Saturday, the authorities counted 5883 people with an infection. 233 people have died. In order to get the crisis under control, the government in Rome, among other things, had previously closed all schools in the country, kindergartens and universities by mid-March.
The measure is valid until April 3
The new restricted areas should apply from now until April 3, the newspaper “La Repubblica” wrote. Several Italian media had previously cited a government bill that, among other things, swimming pools, museums and ski stations would be closed in the areas mentioned. Shopping centers are only open from Monday to Friday.
The country had previously restricted the work of parts of the judiciary, among other things. Healthcare pledged to hire 20,000 more workers, including specialists and nurses. Authorities should also be allowed to move medical devices and other goods such as furniture if they compensate owners with a price that was customary in the market before the crisis.
The number of infected people is increasing worldwide
The number of infected people also increased in other countries. There are now over 5,800 infections recorded in Iran – more than 1,000 more than the previous day. More than 140 deaths have now been registered there. According to local media, several Iranian officials are among the dead. The newly elected MP Fatemeh Rahbar died of Covid-19 on Saturday.
There are now more than 100,000 infections and around 3,500 deaths registered worldwide. According to experts, the number of unrecorded cases is still far higher.
Nile ship under quarantine
In the south of Egypt, a Nile ship with around 165 people on board was quarantined after several crew members had tested positive for the corona virus. In addition to the Egyptian occupation, tourists from France, India and America are also on the cruise ship, officials from Luxor said.
The disease is also increasingly causing problems in the United States: at least 21 people were infected with Sars-CoV-2 on a cruise ship stopped off the coast of California. Authorities stopped the ship after a previous passenger died from Covid-19. Around 2400 passengers and 1100 crew members are said to be on board.
The corona virus is also spreading in South America. The first fatality in Latin America was registered in Argentina. According to the Ministry of Health, an infected 64-year-old man died in the capital, Buenos Aires. He recently returned from Europe and was hospitalized after a doctor’s visit for fever, cough and sore throat. Where in Europe the man was was not disclosed.
China reports decline in new infections
In China, the number of new coronavirus infections fell again. There are 44 new cases, the National Health Commission in Beijing said. Only three of them were registered outside the central province of Hubei, the epicenter of the epidemic. These three infections were found in the capital, Beijing, and in the northwest province of Gansu in people who entered the country from abroad.
The two infected people in Beijing had come from Italy and Spain. In addition, 27 further coronavirus deaths were counted, all in Hubei’s capital, Wuhan. This was the lowest casualty rate in China in over a month. In total, 3097 people died in mainland China.
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