The Council of Ministers of Italy has decided to temporarily close schools and universities in the country due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, reports TV channel Rainews24.
It is not reported on the date when this measure will take effect. Earlier, local media reported that the government is considering closing schools either on Thursday or Monday, March 9.
According to the TV channel and other Italian media, the closure of schools and universities will last until mid-March.
The total number of cases of infection with coronavirus in Italy has increased from about two thousand to 2,022, the victims of infection were 79 people, said the head of the Civil Protection Service Angelo Borrelli at a briefing on Tuesday.
Chinese authorities on 31 December informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan in the central part of the country (Hubei Province). Specialists have identified the pathogen, a new coronavirus. The number of people infected in the country has exceeded 80 thousand and 2 981 died. Cases of infection outside China were recorded, according to the latest WHO data, in 72 countries, the number of infected exceeded 10 thousand, more than 160 people died.