A dozen Italian towns have gone into lockdown Saturday after a growing cluster of coronavirus cases were detected and two people infected with the disease died.
Authorities in the Lombardy and Veneto regions closed schools, businesses and restaurants in response to the outbreak, The Associated Press reported. Scheduled sporting events and church services were also canceled.
Attilio Fontana, the president of Lombardy, said there were 39 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the region and 10 towns were ordered to suspend “nonessential” activities.
A 77-year-old woman in the region tested positive for the virus after her death, but it is not yet known whether the virus was the cause of death.
None of the infected people in Lombardy have visited China, but at least 15 of them are believed to have frequented the same bar and had the same group of friends, according to the New York Post.
David Adams
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