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| Italian Carabinieri officers check documents of drivers after a decree orders for the whole of Italy to be on lockdown in an unprecedented clampdown aimed at beating the coronavirus, near Milan, Italy, March 10, 2020 |
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has jumped by 168 to 631, an increase of 36%, the Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday, the largest rise in absolute numbers since the contagion came to light on Feb. 21.
The total number of cases in Italy, the European country hardest hit by the virus in Europe, rose to 10,149 from a previous 9,172, an increase of 10.7%.
The head of the agency said that, of those originally infected, 1,004 had fully recovered compared to 724 the day before. Some 877 people were in intensive care against a previous 733.
AUSTRIAN BORDER CONTROLS
Austria is introducing border checks and will deny entry to people arriving from Italy, drastically stepping up measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday.
The announcement comes a day after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the whole of his country was being placed under lockdown until next month, an unprecedented and unexpected new attempt to beat coronavirus in Europeโs worst-affected country.
While there will be exceptions, such as for people passing through Austria without stopping and for goods transport, the border measures are exceptional for the Alpine country wedged between Italy and Germany and part of the Schengen open-border area.
โThe utmost priority is to prevent the spread and thus the importing of the illness into our society. There is therefore a ban on entry for people from Italy into Austria, with the exception of people who have a doctorโs note (certifying they are healthy),โ Kurz told a news conference.
Kurz and Interior Minister Karl Nehammer announced other measures, including a ban on indoor events of more than 100 people and outdoor events of more than 500 people, from Wednesday until early April.
University lectures will stop on Monday at the latest and companies are being asked to let their staff work from home.
Austria had only just introduced spot health checks at its border with Italy on Tuesday, targeting vehicles with Italian licence plates in particular. It also said last week it was banning direct flights to the Italian cities of Milan and Bologna, as well as to Iran and South Korea.
SERIE A SEASON MAY NOT FINISH
The Italian football federation (FIGC) admitted on Tuesday that the Serie A season might not finish because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The FIGC confirmed in a statement that Serie A would stop until at least April 3 following a government decree issued on Monday and said that its president Gabriele Gravina had put forward several alternatives in case the championship could not be concluded.
One possibility would be to have play-offs to decide the champion and relegation to Serie B, the statement said.
A second would be to declare the current standings to be final โ which would result in Juventus winning the title โ and a third would be to not have a champion this season.
REUTERS
