Coronavirus: Venice, Milan shutting down; Armani holds empty show

PanARMENIAN.Net - The alarmingly fast spread of the coronavirus in Italy, the biggest outbreak beyond Asia, is shutting down the wealthy northern parts of the country, where more than 50,000 people in a dozen towns are in lockdown.

Venice cancelled the final two days of its hugely popular carnival and several professional soccer games were suspended. In Milan, the city’s top tourist attraction, the Duomo cathedral, was closed. Giorgio Armani held an empty fashion show on Sunday, February 23, the final day of Milan’s fashion week. The event had no guests and was livestreamed instead. Museums were also closing on Sunday, The Globe and Mail says.

By Sunday evening, the Italian infection count had reached 155, the majority of them in Lombardy, whose main city is Milan, the commercial capital. The infection had killed three elderly Italians – two women and a man – since Friday, two of them in Lombardy, the third in the nearby Veneto region.

In China, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is now 77,150, and 2,592 have died from the outbreak, the commission said.

Meanwhile, Turkey, Pakistan and Armenia closed their borders with Iran on Sunday as the latter reported more coronavirus infections and deaths, prompting neighboring Afghanistan to also introduce travel restrictions.