Italy expands emergency 'Red Zone' to cover much of the north as hospitals struggle to cope with Coronavirus outbreak.

Italy has taken the drastic step of locking down much of the north of the country, extending the Coronavirus 'Red Zone' quarantine area to include the entire Lombardy region - whose capital is Italy's financial centre Milan - along with 14 Italian provinces.

The lockdown, which affects around 16 million people - roughly a quarter of Italy's population - also includes parts of Veneto around Venice, and the Emilia Romagna cities of Rimini and Parma, Italy's 2020 capital of culture.

Movement in and out of these lockdown areas will be severely restricted until at least 3 April, while movement within the quarantine zones will be limited to essential needs related to work or emergency situations.

All schools and universities in the zona rossa area will remain closed until at least 3 April.

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The attempt to contain the spread of the Coronavirus - in what are the most sweeping measures outside China - will effectively shut down Milan and Venice.

The decree comes as all schools in Italy remain closed while the country grapples with the COVID-19 outbreak which so far has recorded more than 5,000 Coronavirus infections and 233 deaths.

The order came into effect in the early hours of 8 March at a press conference in Palazzo Chigi during which Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte condemned as "unacceptable" and "irresponsible" the media's publication of a draft version of the decree the evening before.

The publication of the draft created widespread panic and reportedly resulted in many people fleeing Milan before the order came into effect.

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Conte, who has taken "political responsibility" for the decree, has urged citizens to accept the measures and to be "self-responsible".

The premier said the decree would not affect planes or trains which will continue to operate as normal in the quarantine areas, however police will be stopping people to check their reasons for travelling.

Where are the quarantine areas?

In addition to the Lombardy region, the 14 areas affected are: Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, Alessandria, Asti, Novara, Verbano Cusio Ossola, Vercelli, Padua, Treviso and Venice.

What are the measures?

Weddings and funerals have been suspended, as well as religious and cultural events.
Cinemas, theatres, pubs, night clubs, gyms, swimming pools, museums and ski resorts have been closed.
Restaurants and bars (cafés) are permitted to stay open until 18.00 provided they allow customers to maintain a distance of one metre between each other.
People have been told to stay home as much as possible, and those who break the quarantine could face three months in jail.
Sporting events and competitions will close to the public.
Whoever has a temperature of 37.5 or more is asked to remain indoors, and for those in quarantine it is strictly forbidden to leave home.

Conte said that Italy is ramping up its production of intensive care equipment and is considering transferring Coronavirus-affected patients in the north to hospitals in other areas of the country.

The premier stated: "We want to guarantee the health of our citizens. We understand that these measures will impose sacrifices, sometimes small and sometimes very big."

"But this is a time where we must take responsibility for ourselves."