Italy quarantines more than 16 million people to try to contain the coronavirus

This Saturday, the number of deaths related to covid-19 in Italy exceeded 230, more than 50 occurred in 24 hours. The number of confirmed cases in the country increased to more than 5,800

Italy announced a mandatory quarantine for at least 16 million people to prevent the spread of the new outbreak of coronavirus.

The measure dictated by the First Minister Giuseppe Conte It will be in force until the beginning of April and will affect residents of the Lombardy region and 14 other provinces.

Among the places affected by the government decision are the cities of Milan, reference financial center in Italy, and Venice, one of its main attractions tourist.

• Argentina records the first death from coronavirus in Latin America

The affected provinces are: Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Venice, Emilia-Romagna, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, Padua, Verbano-Cuscio-Osola, Treviso, Vercelli, Novara, Asti and Alessandria.

Conte’s announcement represents a substantial increase in efforts to contain the covid-19 epidemic and will involve the closure of gyms, hospitals, swimming pools, museums and hotels.

Italy is the nation of Europe that has detected more cases of infection of the new coronavirus.

For this Saturday, the death toll by covid-19 in that country exceeded 230, of which more than 50 had occurred in the previous 24 hours.

The number of cases of confirmed infections increased in the same period from 1,200 to 5,883.

This Saturday, the Italian press had advanced details about the government’s plans, but the authorities had remained silent until 2 am this Sunday (local time) when Prime Minister Conte appeared and made public the signing of the decree that will enter vigor in the next hours.

What are the measures?

The entry and exit of the region of Lombardy, as well as the mentioned provinces will be prohibited, except in cases of emergency.

REUTERS

Cafes and restaurants may work but customers must be separated by at least one meter away.

The authorities ask citizens to remain in their cases as much as possible. Those who break the quarantine may be sentenced to three months in jail.

Sports competitions will be held without audiences.

The World Health Organization recommended that Italy focus on measures that contain the virus to prevent the disease from spreading throughout the country.

The plan announced by Conte is similar to that applied by China, which also quarantined millions of people, and was praised by WHO for having managed to limit the spread of the disease.

Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them to not miss our best content.

– .