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Italian PM extends quarantine measures nationwide

Giuseppe Conte added that all educational facilities in the country would be closed until April 3

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte

© AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

ROME, March 10. /TASS/. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has extended quarantine measures introduced to combat the spread of novel coronavirus in all of Italy, restricting the citizens’ movements.

"Taking into account the recent data and the increased amount of those infected and dead, we have decided to extend the measures applied to Lombardy and several other areas on the entire territory of the country," Conte said during Monday’s press conference transmitted on Facebook. He added that people are only allowed to travel for work, due to family emergencies or for health reasons. The new measures will come into force starting March 10.

Conte added that all educational facilities in the country would be closed until April 3.

"We are introducing measures that can be described as "I’m staying home." The recent data on those infected and dead, as well as the amount of people in intensive care shows that it is time to change our habits. Every Italian must give up something for the sake of Italy," the PM said. Conte added that international travel would not be restricted, however, Italy will continue to supervise those arriving in the country. According to him, so far, the restrictions do not concern public transport, "so that people could still be able to reach their place of work."

The number of deaths caused by novel coronavirus in Italy has risen by 97 in the past 24 hours, with the total death toll reaching 463. The number of people infected with the virus in the country has exceeded 9,000, while over 700 people have recovered from the disease.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. According to Chinese authorities, about 80,700 people have been infected with the virus in the country. The death toll has exceeded 3,100, while about 58,600 patients have recovered. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global health emergency and named the virus COVID-19. Cases of coronavirus have been reported in over 100 countries, including Russia. The largest outbreaks of COVID-19 outside of China have been detected in South Korea, Iran and Italy.

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