ROME (Reuters) - Italy is set to lock down its wealthiest and most populous region, which includes the financial capital Milan, as part of tough new measures expected to be approved on Saturday to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The new rules include telling people not to enter or leave Lombardy, which is home to some 10 million people, as well as 11 provinces in four of Italy’s 19 other regions, according to a draft decree seen by Reuters.
All museums, gyms, cultural centers, ski resorts and swimming pools will be shut in the targeted areas, according to the decree, which is due to come into force from Sunday.
The legislation is expected to be approved later on Saturday, the head of the civil protection agency said earlier, after the number of coronavirus infections jumped by more than 1,200 in the past 24 hours.
So far, only a few limited areas of northern Italy, known as “red zones”, have been quarantined.
Leave will be canceled for all healthcare workers, weddings, funerals and sports events suspended, and home working should be adopted as much as possible, the draft said.
The 11 provinces affected are those around Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Rimini in the region of Emilia-Romagna - Venice, Padua and Treviso in the region of Veneto - Asti and Alessandria in Piedmont - and the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the central region of Marche.
All schools and universities will be closed in Lombardy and the listed provinces until at least April 3. This week, the government announced schools all over the country would be closed until March 15.
