Last updated: Wednesday 11 March, 10:15 pm

Coronavirus: the latest news updated in real time

• The World Health Organisation has declared coronavirus a pandemic.
• The government has decided to adopt a series of drastic measures in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus across the country. Prime Minister Conte explained that movement is restricted throughout Italy. On the evening of 11 March, closures of commercial premises and offices across Italy were also ordered (with the exception of essential services).
• Confirmed positive cases in Italy stand at 8,514; 1,004 people have recovered while 631 have died. The total number of cases is 10,149.
• Given the high number of infections, the question of where to treat patients is now pressing. Intensive care units, already under strain for weeks, are running out of available beds.
• In Wuhan, China, all temporary hospitals have been closed after the last patients were discharged or transferred.

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Coronavirus in Italy

The map of infections in Italy

The Civil Protection Department, with the aim of guaranteeing increasingly effective and transparent institutional communication, has created an interactive map to display the situation regarding health monitoring of coronavirus in Italy.

The second press conference by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday 11 March

"Now is the time to take a further step." Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte set out new measures to counter the spread of coronavirus on the evening of Wednesday 11 March 2020. These include the closure of all commercial premises and offices, with the exception of pharmacies, parapharmacies, and essential services such as banking and postal services. Supermarkets and food shops will also remain open. "Italy," he explained, "is showing great responsibility. The world is watching us with concern, but it appreciates us because we are demonstrating great resilience. Tomorrow they will admire us, they will hold us up as a positive example because we will have managed to win the battle. We are the first country in Europe to have been hit, but we are also the one responding with the most energy."

"This is a challenge," Conte added, "that is putting our national health system to the test, but also the resilience of our economy. I made a pact with my conscience: the health of Italians will always come first. A few days ago I asked you to change your habits. The vast majority of Italians responded in an extraordinary way. But I knew that was only a first step."

Agenzia ANSA ✓ @Agenzia_Ansa

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"Chiudiamo negozi, bar, pub, ristoranti. Resta consentita la consegna a domicilio". Lo annuncia il premier Giuseppe Conte a Palazzo Chigi - Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri "Restano garantiti i trasporti". #coronavirus #ANSA ow.ly/QGw950yJqrG

♥ 578💬 62 11 mar 2020 · Apri su X →

The Prime Minister specified that canteens, shops, pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, beauty salons and non-essential production departments in industrial facilities would also be closed. The latter will be required to adopt safety protocols to limit the risk of infection, such as changes to work shifts and the early use of holiday entitlement. Livestock farms and the supply chains providing them with goods and services will continue to operate. "The overriding rule remains that we must limit movement," the head of government added, "except in cases of necessity. We must be aware that we have only recently begun to change our behaviour and the effect will come in a couple of weeks, not from tomorrow."

Conte then concluded by explaining that "if the numbers continue to rise, it does not mean we should rush to introduce new measures. We must be measured, rigorous and responsible. Shortly I will appoint an extraordinary commissioner, Domenico Arcuri (chief executive of the national agency for investment attraction and business development, ed.), who will work to step up the distribution of medical equipment and address the shortfalls identified. He will coordinate with the Civil Protection, which I take this opportunity to thank." "If we all respect these rules, we will get through this emergency sooner. We have a responsibility to 60 million Italians. We are part of the same community. Let us stay apart so that we can embrace one another more warmly tomorrow."

The press conference by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday 11 March

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced at a press conference, alongside Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri and Labour Minister Nunzia Catalfo, a plan worth 25 billion euros to address the extraordinary situation Italy is facing: this amounts to 1.1 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). "We have set aside an extraordinary sum of 25 billion, not to be used immediately, but certainly available to meet all the difficulties of this emergency," Conte explained. "This afternoon I will have a video conference with President Ursula Von der Leyen, who had said she was willing to come to Italy. I thanked her and told her that at this moment we can work as swiftly as possible through a video conference." "The first measure, which we plan to approve on Friday, will use half of these resources; the use of the other half will also depend on any European resources available. It is still too early to say what level of deficit will be reached," Gualtieri explained, adding that "no one will lose their job because of coronavirus." In addition, "liquidity support for families and businesses through the banking system" is planned. Minister Catalfo proposed dual support for families: "a parental leave of 15 days shared between father and mother on a proportional basis, so as not to place the burden disproportionately on women, and a voucher of at least 600 euros — rising to 1,000 in the case of healthcare workers and researchers — to cover the costs of babysitters and family assistance." The decree will also include "a special short-time working scheme to protect all workers regardless of the sector they belong to," and provision for "a widening of social safety nets, with the possibility of using the wage supplementation fund for companies with between 5 and 15 employees." Regarding the request from the regions of Lombardy and Veneto to impose further closures of activities in their territories, Conte explained that he had tasked Minister Speranza with contacting the regional governors, Fontana and Zaia, to obtain a formal and reasoned request. "The government is not at all closed to more restrictive measures, bearing in mind that we have already adopted a decree introducing a regime that extends across the entire peninsula," Conte explained. "But we are monitoring the spread of infection and are open to considering any requests that may come from Lombardy and other regions."

A pop-up hospital at the Portello in Milan

Given the constant rise in the number of infections, the Lombardy Region has devised a project to open a pop-up hospital with 500 intensive care beds, similar to those built in China, in the Portello area of Milan. Lombardy's Welfare Councillor Giulio Gallera explained that the project has been submitted to the Civil Protection and that, in order to get started, it needs 500 portable ventilators and staff. A plan B has also been drawn up, providing for the opening of 500 beds "in social care facilities that are empty or can be quickly emptied."

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's address on Monday 9 March

On Monday 9 March, at around 9:30 pm, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte addressed a press conference. "The government has adopted a new decision. We are aware of the fact that changing our habits is very difficult. I understand the families and young people who fill the bars. In time, in light of our recommendations, we will be able to get all of that back. We are seeing a rise in hospitalisations, in intensive care admissions and, unfortunately, in deaths. Our habits must therefore change now. We must all give something up, for the good of Italy. And we must do it immediately. We will only succeed if everyone cooperates and adapts. We have therefore decided to adopt even stronger measures, in order to contain the advance of the coronavirus as much as possible." "I am about to sign a measure that we sum up with the expression 'I stay at home'," Conte specified. "The whole of Italy will be a protected zone. Across the entire national territory, movements not motivated by proven work-related reasons, cases of necessity or health reasons are to be avoided. We are adding to the measure a ban on gatherings outdoors and in premises open to the public." All sporting events were also cancelled, including the football championship.

The Civil Protection appeal: "Do not storm the supermarkets"

Attilio Fontana, president of Lombardy, the region hardest hit by the emergency, in an interview with SkyTg24 called on the government to tighten the measures further, which he clearly considered insufficient. His proposal was in fact to "close all commercial businesses" that are not essential, as well as "local public transport." The governor explained that he intended to formally put the measure to Palazzo Chigi. The Civil Protection launched an appeal to the entire Italian population, urging people not to rush to supermarkets out of fear that they would no longer be restocked in the coming days: "You must not storm the supermarkets. The food and distribution chain will never be interrupted and supermarkets will always be restocked," deputy head Agostino Miozzo assured. According to him, "grocery shops will have everything needed for daily life. Everything necessary will be there and it will always be available."

Read also: Coronavirus, divieto di spostamenti e restrizioni estese a tutta Italia fino al 3 aprile

Schools and universities closed

Schools across the country will be closed until 3 April.

Digitalisation in support of the red zones

Companies, associations and private individuals have made and will make free services available to those in the red zone. For example:

• Eolo: offering one month of free internet connectivity;

• Tim: offering unlimited gigabytes or voice traffic free of charge to fixed and mobile numbers for all users residing in 60 municipalities in the province of Lodi and 23 in the province of Padua;

• Gruppo Mondadori: has made three-month free subscriptions to Gruppo Mondadori's digital-format magazines available;

• Vodafone: has suspended limits on minutes, SMS and gigabytes. In addition, to facilitate smart working procedures, it has removed data traffic limits on voice SIMs for Italian business and VAT-registered customers;

• Microsoft: technology and IT experts are available free of charge to enable the adoption of smart working solutions, including mobile working, for small and medium-sized enterprises, private and public companies, institutions and schools, both existing and new customers.

Find all the information here.

Read also: Coronavirus. Non dobbiamo aver paura degli animali, ma di ciò che stiamo facendo ai loro habitat

Coronavirus and animals: the Lav front desk

The Lega anti vivisezione (Lav) has activated a front desk reachable on 06.4461325 to provide information on the management and care of animals, offer assistance with logistical coordination in crisis situations, collect reports from local Lav branches and guarantee their support and coordination. The association has also created a template self-declaration required for travel by those who genuinely need to move around to carry out unavoidable animal welfare activities that, if not performed, would cause mistreatment of the animals themselves, jeopardising their health or life. This self-declaration will be used, for example, by those who care for feral cat colonies, those who work in kennels or those who look after stray animals.

Online veterinary services

With the general invitation to stay at home in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus, those who have a pet and need a vet can request a free preliminary online consultation via video call, thanks to the services offered by Vetonline24, a group of professional vets registered with the professional body who provide an initial consultation online. "A team of specialists, available 24 hours a day, will be able to formulate a possible initial diagnosis and indicate the best course of action to follow," explains Maurizio Albano, vet and founder of Vetonline24, speaking to ANSA. All the information is on their website.

The "Io resto a casa" campaign

On Saturday evening, the release of the first draft of the new decree against Covid-19 caused panic among the population of Milan. Hundreds of people, rather than respecting the request to stay in their homes and avoid contact, rushed to the station to leave the Lombard capital