Italy imposes drastic new measures amid worsening COVID-19 outbreak

Italy is closing theaters, cinemas and museums across the country as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread, according to a decree signed Sunday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

The drastic new measures will be in place until April 3 and will affect some 16 million people in the country's north, including the Lombardy region and about 14 provinces in neighboring regions.

People will be barred from entering or leaving northern Italy without work-related or health-related reasons, or unless there are emergencies, Conte told the media.

Italy on Saturday saw its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases of more than 1,200 since the outbreak began in the north of the country on Feb. 21, taking the total number of infections to 5,883.

The death toll from the virus in Italy has risen to 233 and the northern regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto account for 92 percent of recorded deaths.

(CGTN)