An Entire Country of 60M Now on Lockdown

'Our habits must be changed, changed now' as Italy extends quarantine to whole country
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 10, 2020 3:09 AM CDT
Updated Mar 10, 2020 6:55 AM CDT
Italy Lockdown Now Covers Entire Country
Police officers and soldiers check passengers leaving from Milan main train station, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2020.   (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Europe's worst coronavirus outbreak is being countered by Europe's toughest restrictions on movement. Italy has extended a lockdown that covered 16 million people in the north to the entire country, affecting more than 60 million people, CNBC reports. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the move Monday evening and urged all Italians to stay at home, reports the AP. "Our habits must be changed, changed now. We all have to give up something for the good of Italy. When I speak of Italy, I speak of our dear ones, of our grandparents and of our parents," he said. "We will succeed only if we all collaborate and we adapt right away to these more stringent norms."

Conte said the decree "can be summarized as follows: I stay at home." He added: "The whole of Italy will become a protected zone." Under the strict new measures, public events will be banned, movie theaters will be closed, and funerals and weddings will have to be postponed, the Guardian reports. Restaurants and bars will be closed at dusk. Travel within the country will be severely restricted and schools and universities will remain closed. The measures stay in place until at least April 3, authorities say. People traveling without a valid reason will face fines of up to $225. Authorities said late Monday that the total number of coronavirus cases had risen by 1,807 to 9,172 and the number of dead had increased by 97 to 463. (More coronavirus stories.)

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