COVID-19: Italy places entire country in lockdown; pandemic threat “very real”

The entire country of Italy has been placed on a lockdown as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) there is nearing 10,000.

As of March 9, 2020, there are 9,172 confirmed cases in Italy, the second most in the world outside of mainland China.

Italy’s number of cases has already overtaken those of South Korea (7,513) and Iran (7,161).

There have also been more than 400 deaths reported in the country.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the country-wide lockdown late Monday.

It also means all public events are banned until the situation improves.

Initially, only northern Italy was placed in lockdown, but Conte decided to extend the measures for the entire state.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that there is a “very real” threat of a coronavirus global pandemic.

In Europe, the situation is already serious, with France, Spain, and Germany all having more than 1,000 coronavirus cases each as well.