ROME — Government officials scrambled on Sunday to contain the first major outbreak of the coronavirus in Europe, locking down at least 10 towns near Milan, closing schools and canceling the iconic Venice carnival, as nearly 150 cases were announced in recent days. The new cases are mostly in the Lombardy region, which includes Milan, and is one of Italy’s most densely populated areas. The coronavirus crisis began in China in late December, and since then, more than 2,000 people have died worldwide, with most of the cases and fatalities in China. The country’s authoritarian government has taken extraordinary quarantine measures and imposed stiff restrictions on travel, but has still struggled to contain the virus. On Sunday, President Moon Jae-in put the country on the highest possible alert, empowering the government to lock down cities and take other sweeping measures to contain the outbreak.

Source: New York Times February 23, 2020 19:54 UTC