Italy extends quarantine

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A traveler fills out a form at the Termini train station in Rome on Monday. Associated Press/Photo by Andrew Medichini

With 9,000 cases of COVID-19 and 463 deaths, the Italian government put the whole country under a travel ban on Monday night. The revised quarantine affects 60 million people. It will last until April 3, extending school closures and banning all public gatherings and nonessential travel. Delivery trucks are still running, and authorities said people can still travel for work.

Are other countries adopting similar measures? The Czech Republic also banned all public events with more than 100 people. On Monday, Panama confirmed its first case. In China, the epidemic continued to abate. The country reported 19 new cases over the past 24 hours, the lowest since Jan. 20. In a sign of progress, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday visited the central city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.

Dig deeper: Read Dr. Charles Horton’s report for WORLD Magazine on whether vitamin D can help ward off the outbreak.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks