COVID-19: Italy in full lockdown; Canada reports 1st death

Source: CBC News:

March 9, 2020 at 17:59

Public gatherings banned, Italians told not to move anywhere except for work, emergencies

The latest:

Italy announces lockdown of entire country.
Canada confirms 1st COVID-19 death.
Grand Princess cruise ship, carrying more than 230 Canadians, docks in Oakland, Calif.
WHO says more than 100 countries have reported lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19; director general says threat of pandemic 'very real.'
Stock markets tumble amid fears about the widening coronavirus outbreak.
Canada's chief public health officer recommends Canadians avoid cruise travel.
Read more about how Canada will cope with community transmission of COVID-19.

Amid an ongoing battle to stop rising cases of coronavirus, Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte said Monday he is extending the lockdown on the northern part of the country, previously known as the "red zone," to all of Italy.

Deeming it the "I stay home" decree, Conte said people should not move anywhere in Italy — one of the countries hardest-hit by COVID-19 — except for work and emergencies and that all public gatherings will be banned.

The nationwide restrictions will take effect on Tuesday, Conte said.

Restrictions in the north have been evident at Milan's main train station, where passengers are required to sign a form from the police, self-certifying that they are travelling either for "proven work needs," situations of necessity, health reasons or to return to their homes. They must provide their identity documents, contact phone numbers and describe exactly the reason for travel.

A police officer talks to people at Milan's main train station, following a government decree that has shut down large areas in the north of the country, on Monday. (Daniele Mascolo/Reuters)

Police officers in masks are checking tickets and documents as people line up to reach the train tracks, backed up by soldiers also in masks, and finally by railway security further back, unmasked. Procedures have tightened significantly since the blockade involving the populous region of Lombardy and 14 provinces went into effect.

Over the weekend, railway security remained the only checks. But due to recommendations to keep a metre distance between people, they had moved their positions back and were no longer checking tickets — just watching people pass by.

COVID-19 in more than 100 countries

Worldwide, the number of cases of COVID-19 — which is caused by a novel coronavirus first seen in China — is more than 100,000, with cases identified in more than 100 countries around the world.

The threat of a COVID-19 pandemic is "very real" as the coronavirus spreads to more countries and case numbers rise — but countries still have tools they can use to contain the novel virus and slow its spread, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a daily news briefing earlier on Monday.

"Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real," said "But it would be the first pandemic that could be controlled. The bottom line is we are not at the mercy of the virus."

Tedros said all countries should have a comprehensive strategy to deal with the virus, which he described as an "uneven epidemic" around the world.

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