Venice Carnival closes amid coronavirus outbreak
Italian officials have cut short the Venice Carnival because they try to control what's now the worst outbreak of the coronavirus in Europe.
Authorities in the Veneto region said the event would end later on Sunday, two days earlier than scheduled.
Italy has by far the best number of coronavirus cases in Europe, with 152. Three people have died.
Italy has imposed strict quarantine restrictions in two northern "hotspot" regions near Milan and Venice.
About 50,000 people cannot enter or leave several towns in Veneto and Lombardy for another fourteen days without special permission. Even outside the zone, many businesses and schools have suspended activities, and sports have already been cancelled including several top-flight football matches.
The BBC's Mark Lowen described the situation just beyond your zone.
In neighbouring Austria, a train from Venice was stopped at the Austrian border after it emerged that two passengers had fever symptoms. Austria's Interior Minister Karl Nehammer later confirmed to the BBC that the pair tested negative for coronavirus.
"All authorities have acted quickly and with great caution in cases like this," said Mr Nehammer in a statement. "The reporting chain worked immediately."
Elsewhere, authorities in South Korea and Iran are battling to regulate rising numbers of infections. South Korea has raised its coronavirus aware of the "highest level".
In the united kingdom, four passengers recently returned from quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Japan have tested positive for the virus.
The new strain of coronavirus, which originated this past year in Hubei province in China, causes a respiratory disease called Covid-19. China has seen more than 76,000 infections and 2,442 deaths.
What's happening in Italy?
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Saturday that "extraordinary measures" would come into force to try to stem the rising number of coronavirus cases.
He said the quarantine restrictions could last for weeks.
Police, and if necessary the armed forces, could have the authority to guarantee the regulations are enforced.
Angelo Borrelli, the top of Italy's Civil Protection Department, told reporters that 110 of the confirmed cases were in Lombardy, with 21 in Veneto with others in Emilia-Romagna and Lazio.
Officials reported a third death on Sunday, an elderly woman from the city of Crema experiencing cancer.
Italian officials say they remain trying to trace the foundation of the outbreak.
The Venice Carnival have been because of close on Tuesday but regional president Luca Zaia told Sky TG24 television set on Sunday that it might be suspended, along with other events, in a bid to combat the virus.
"Out of this evening, we plan to stop carnival and all activities until 1 March," he said.
Universities in Milan have already been closed and the city's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said schools would also close their doors as the outbreak continued.
"As a precaution I feel that the schools need to be closed in Milan. I'll propose to the president of the spot to enlarge the precaution to the whole metropolitan city area. It is merely a precaution, we don't want to create panic," he said.
Colette Walsh, an English teacher residing in the town of Lissone, told the BBC that supermarket shelves were empty as persons were panic-buying.
"It's surreal, I've never seen anything like it," she said.
Meanwhile Giorgio Armani's fashion show, scheduled to be held in Milan on Sunday, went ahead but without the media or buyers present. The show was livestreamed on its website, Instagram and Facebook pages.
Dolce & Gabbana's fashion week show went ahead as normal, though, with some guests wearing surgical masks.
What's happening in South Korea?
On Sunday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the country faced "a grave turning point", and another few days would be crucial in the battle to support the outbreak.
South Korea has reported six deaths and a lot more than 600 confirmed infections - the best number outside China, although an outbreak of coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, has also seen more than 600 cases.
"The government will improve the alert level to the best level according to experts' recommendations," Mr Moon said.
Health officials revealed an additional leap in the number of coronavirus cases with a cluster of infections linked to a hospital and to a religious group near to the south-eastern city of Daegu.
Of the 169 new cases announced in South Korea on Sunday, 95 of these are associated with a Christian sect in Daegu called the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. The full total number of cases linked to the church stands at 329.
What's the most recent from Iran?
Iran said on Sunday it had 43 confirmed cases of the virus, the majority of them in the holy city of Qom. Eight of these infected have died, the best number of deaths outside China.
Iraq, Pakistan, Armenia and Turkey have closed their borders with Iran, and Afghanistan has suspended air and road happen to be and from Iran.
What about China, where in fact the outbreak started?
On Sunday, China's President Xi Jinping described the outbreak as the "largest public health emergency" in the country's recent history.
He acknowledged "shortcomings" in China's response and said lessons should be learned.
On Saturday, Chinese authorities reported a decrease in the rate of deaths and new cases of the coronavirus.
But outside China, cases without clear link to that country or other confirmed cases continue steadily to rise, prompting concern from the World Health Organization (WHO).
