ROME – Two deaths from the new coronavirus sparked fears throughout northern Italy on Saturday, as about 50,000 people were poised for a weeks-long lockdown imposed by authorities trying to halt a further increase in infections.
Italy on Friday became the first country in Europe to report the death of one of its own nationals from the virus, triggering travel restrictions on about a dozen towns where the number of people contaminated has continued to rise.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that people living inside the affected areas in the northern regions would be restricted to those areas, while schools and businesses closed, as part of measures designed to stem new infections. (AFP)
