Coronavirus: No decision yet whether to close all schools in Italy

Italy has not yet decided whether to close schools and universities over the novel coronavirus, Education Minister Lucia Azzolina has said, after Ansa and other Italian agencies said on Wednesday (March 4) they will be shut until mid-March.

Ms Azzolina came out of a government meeting where new measures were being discussed by top ministers to explain that a final ruling on schools and universities will come “in the next hours”.

The government shuttered schools and universities in the worst-affected regions in northern Italy some 10 days ago and quarantined a handful of towns, in an attempt to contain the worst coronavirus outbreak in Europe, Ansa news agency reported on Wednesday (March 4).

The disease, formally known as Covid-19, has killed 79 people in Italy and infected more than 2,500 - the most in Europe.

(AFP&REUTERS)