Italy places entire country on lockdown

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that all 60 million Italians must stay at home to curb the spread of the coronavirus, effectively placing the entire country on lockdown.

Travel across the peninsula is to be avoided unless justified by professional reasons, necessity, or health concerns.

This national restriction expands on previous measures that had locked down 15 million people in northern Italy, including Lombardy and 14 other provinces.

Nationwide, cinemas, theaters, and museums were closed, while measures also impacted gyms, cultural centers, ski resorts, and swimming pools in the initially targeted zones.

Restaurants and bars in restricted areas were permitted to operate only from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with patrons maintaining at least one meter of distance.

The government's decree followed a significant increase in cases, with northern regions accounting for 85% of all cases and 92% of deaths in Italy.

Globally, the virus had infected over 100,000 people worldwide, with Latin America recording its first fatality and the US seeing contagion spread to 30 states before this wider lockdown.