- Over three days, there was a rapid spike in confirmed cases in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto increasing from three confirmed cases on Friday to 215 people by Monday.
- Authorities have closed down 12 towns as they try to stop the virus from spreading. These photos show what it looks like on the ground.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
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Photos show what Italy is like under lockdown as the country became Europe's epicenter of the coronavirus with more than 200 cases reported in 3 days
Italy is now the focal point for the Wuhan coronavirusoutside of Asia.
A policewoman wearing a protective mask stands next to carnival revellers at Venice Carnival, which the last two days of, as well as Sunday night's festivities, have been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice, Italy February 23, 2020.
Italy is now the European epicenter for the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China.
It was a dramatic weekend for coronavirus cases in Italy. On Friday morning there were only three confirmed cases. By Monday, more than 215 had been confirmed and a sixth person had died. According to the Washington Post , cases of the coronavirus are rising, nearly every hour.
Authorities still don't know where the coronavirus originated in Italy, making it hard to track and stop.
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Authorities put 12 towns on lockdown and closed some of the country's most famous attractions to curb the virus' spread. Wary citizens are stockpiling food.
Here's how Italy is dealing with the coronavirus, in photos.
Italy, a country filled with tourist destinations like Venices canals and Romes Colosseum, is now dealing with a sudden and threatening outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.
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Andrea Pattaro / AFP / Getty
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Its been a concern for tourists for months, and as far back as January, masks were already selling out in downtown Rome. The US Centers for Disease Control doesnt recommend uninfected people wear masks, but they can be beneficial for people who have symptoms of the virus.
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Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty
Source: Business Insider
Over the weekend, the virus spiked. In only a few days, three confirmed cases ballooned to 215 cases, with six deaths.
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Claudio Furlan/Lapresse / AP
Source: Business Insider
Outside of Asia, Italy now has the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world.
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Antonio Masiello/Getty
Source: Business Insider
One Italian shop owner named Carlo Benuzzi told the Washington Post, "All the things you used to see in films that are far from us, now you see them here."
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Marco Sabadin / AFP / Getty
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Source: Washington Post
Lombardy and Veneto, both in northern Italy, are the two regions with the most confirmed cases. According to the Financial Times, they make up about a third of Italys economy, and the viruss impact could be damaging to its struggling economy.
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Stefania D'Alessandro/Getty
Source: FT
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In Milan, Lombardys capital, the streets are deserted. As of Monday, the region had 167 confirmed cases.
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Flavio Lo Scalzo / Reuters
Sources: CNN , Washington Post
Despite Milan appearing abandoned, its not an easy city to contain. It has the second busiest airport in Italy, and trains constantly pass through, with daily routes to Rome.
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Luca Bruno / AP
Sources: CNN , Washington Post
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte told RAI, Italys state broadcaster, he was surprised by the "explosion of cases," and his government was doing everything it could to contain the virus.
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Virginia Mayo / AP
Source: FT
Italian authorities are trying to minimize the virus ability to spread. They have cancelled sports games, as well as closed schools, universities, restaurants, and tourist attractions, like the Duomo cathedral in Milan.
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Stefania D'Alessandro/Getty
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Sources: Washington Post , AP
Milans fashion week was impacted, although not hugely. On Sunday, fashion designer Giorgio Armani held a show without a live audience. Instead, people could watch it via livestream.
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Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters
Sources: FT , BBC , The Independent
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For Venice, where two cases have been confirmed, authorities suspended the final two days of the famous Venice Carnival.
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Laura Lezza/Getty
Its a much-loved occasion and some people still participated with traditional outfits.
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Ohad Zwigenberg / Reuters
For a while, at least, people in Venice were sporting two very different types of masks one for the carnival and one for the virus ...
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Ohad Zwigenberg / Reuters
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... or a combination of the two.
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Andrea Pattaro / AFP / Getty
In Ivrea, another northern city, a traditional festival known as the "Battle of the Oranges" was also suspended.
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Marco Alpozzi / Lapresse / AP
Things escalated late on Saturday. A dozen Italian towns were put on lockdown. According to a BBC map, the largest cluster of towns are to the southeast of Milan, while another town is to the west of Venice.
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Claudio Furlan/Lapresse / AP
Sources: Business Insider , Washington Post , FT , BBC
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Masked police are monitoring checkpoints. Anyone who wants to enter or leave requires special permission. The quarantine in the towns affects about 50,000 people.
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Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty
Sources: Business Insider , Washington Post , FT
One resident named Andrea Casilas, from VoEuganeo, a town thats blocked off, told AP, "This wasnt a very exciting place to begin with. Since we cant go to the bar, theres no much left to do."
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Miguel Medina / AFP / Getty
Source: AP
And people, fearing that there could be worse to come, are cleaning out supermarkets.
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Paolo Santalucia / AP
Sources: Washington Post , BBC
A woman named Colette Walsh, who lives in Lissone, told the BBC that people were "panic-buying" and shelves were already empty.
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Antonio Calanni / AP
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Sources: Washington Post , BBC
On Monday, as numbers continued to rise, officials still werent sure how the virus entered Italy.
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Luca Bruno / AP
Sources: Washington Post , BBC , The New York Times
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Outside of Italy, the rest of Europe is taking it seriously. Borders are being monitored, and a train heading to Austria was stopped until a person with flu-like symptoms was given the all-clear.
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Lino Mirgeler/picture alliance / Getty
Sources: Washington Post , BBC , The New York Times
For now, Italy is trying to stop the virus from spreading. Its own all-clear could be weeks away, if not longer.
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Claudio Furlan/LaPresse / AP
Sources: Washington Post , BBC , The New York Times
See Also:
- Italy put 12 towns on coronavirus lockdown after 215 cases and 5 deaths made it the most infected country outside Asia
- How SARS terrified the world in 2003, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing 774
- The new coronavirus has killed nearly 3 times as many people in 8 weeks as SARS did in 8 months. Here's how the 2 outbreaks compare.
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SEE ALSO: How SARS terrified the world in 2003, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing 774
DON'T MISS: Italy put 12 towns on coronavirus lockdown after 215 cases and 5 deaths made it the most-infected country outside of Asia
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