Coronavirus outbreak: Italy quarantines 16 million people after COVID-19 cases spike

The Italian government introduced dramatic measures on Sunday, which will remain in effect until April 3, quarantining 16 million people in the country's north, after its biggest one-day spike in COVID-19 cases.

The country is Europe's hardest hit and on March 7, it was reported the number of cases had jumped by 1,200 in a 24-hour period, which is its largest daily increase since the epidemic began in Italy two weeks ago.

In response, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed unprecedented restrictions into law overnight. He announced that people should now not enter or leave Lombardy, Italy's richest region including the financial centre Milan, as well as 14 provinces in four other regions including the cities of Venice, Modena and Parma among others.

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 200 people in Italy, and the northern regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto represent 92 per cent of recorded deaths and 85 per cent of all cases.

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