"Italy quarantines 16 million people in coronavirus-hit north"

Italy’s prime minister announced a sweeping coronavirus quarantine early Sunday, restricting the movements of about a quarter of the country’s population in a bid to limit contagions at the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak. Shortly after midnight, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree affecting about 16 million people in the country’s prosperous north, including the Lombardy region and at least 15 provinces in neighboring regions. The extraordinary measures will be in place until April 3... The World Health Organization (WHO) urged Italy on Friday to keep “a strong focus on containment measures.”... The draft decree says that those who violate the restrictions could be punished by fines and jailed for up to three months.