Italy – a country of some 60 million people – has been placed under quarantine, as the government there steps up efforts to tackle a coronavirus outbreak that has affected more than 9,000 people and left 463 dead. Al Jazeera reported.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced late on Monday that he was extending restrictions on travel from the north throughout the country.
Only those who can prove a real need – whether for work, health or other limited reasons – will be allowed to travel outside the areas where they live.
“There won’t be just a red zone,” Conte told reporters referring to the restrictions already in place in northern Italy.
“There will be Italy” as a protected area, he said
Conte’s announcement came as Italy announced 97 more deaths from the virus and the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the threat of a global coronavirus pandemic was “very real”.
More than 3,800 people have died from the coronavirus around the world and more than 110,000 cases confirmed, according to the WHO.
Meanwhile, Mongolia has barred anyone from entering or leaving its cities for six days after earlier reporting its first case of coronavirus.
“The capital Ulaanbaatar and all province centres are quarantined until March 16 to curb the outbreak,” Deputy Prime Minister Enkhtuvshin Ulziisaikhan told a press conference.
