Italy to close all schools and universities through March 15 as coronavirus death toll rises
Italy’s government on Wednesday announced it will temporarily close the nation’s schools and universities due to the coronavirus outbreak.
State-run RAI radio and the ANSA and LaPresse news agencies reported earlier Wednesday that Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte had agreed on the closure during a Cabinet meeting. Education Minister Lucia Azzolina later said the school closures would be in effect from March 5 through March 15.
Earlier Wednesday, Italy had the dubious honor of being the worst-affected country from the coronavirus outside Asia, having overtaken Iran in terms of the number of deaths and infections from the virus.
The death toll in Italy jumped to 79 on Tuesday, up from an official total of 52 on Monday. As of Wednesday morning, there are 2,502 cases of the virus in Italy, according to Italian media reports that are updated ahead of the daily official count, published by Italy’s Civil Protection Agency every evening. [Continue reading…]