Italy Locks Down the Country’s North to Fight Coronavirus

The Italian government is locking down 17 million people—more than a quarter of its population—including in Milan, the surrounding Lombardy region and 14 neighboring provinces, in the most sweeping steps any European country has prepared to take against the coronavirus epidemic.

A decree from the Italian Prime Minister’s office says people living in Lombardy, where Milan is the capital, and the named provinces in Lombardy’s nearby regions must “absolutely avoid any movement into and out of the areas.”

Police, emergency services and if needed the army will be available to enforce the quarantine. People violating the lockdown can be punished with a fine or jail terms, according to the draft decree.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the measures in a press conference in the early hours of Sunday morning. He said the final decree would be published “in the coming hours.”

The quarantine will be effective from Sunday until April 3.

Feds Warn Law Enforcement of Potential Iranian Sleeper Cells Following Discovery of Encrypted Communications

Trump’s Freedom 250 unveils IndyCar racetrack in DC: ‘Imagine these views’

Whistleblower says CBP chief targeted senior staff over ‘political vendettas’

New Details: Alleged IED Throwers in NYC Had Naturalized Parents – IEDs Contained the ‘Mother of Satan’ Explosive, Rep. Roy Calls for Pause on All Legal Immigration

Schumer once blocked Trump’s move to fill the nation’s oil reserves, now he wants them opened

China-linked birth tourism under scrutiny as GOP lawmakers press Trump admin for answers

Liberal dark money boosts Democrats’ Virginia redistricting effort, massively outraising opponents

WATCH: GOP Rep Roasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz And State AG Keith Ellison over Massive Fraud Scandal Point by Point

EXCLUSIVE: Trump rejects shielding Biden records from Senate probes in executive privilege showdown

Breaking: NYC Bomb Attack ‘ISIS-Inspired Terrorism,’ NYPD Commissioner Says

DHS hammers Dems over airport security lines amid funding lapse

The Most Dishonest Headline We’ve Ever Seen: The NYT’s Headline on the Islamist IED Attack at Mamdani’s Mansion Will Blow Your Mind

Iranian Women’s Soccer Team Appears to Cry for Help with Subtle Hand Gesture

Tankers to resume normal movement in Middle East in ‘a few weeks’ at worst, Energy sec says, ending oil surge

Airport chaos escalates pressure to resolve DHS government shutdown

“We are confronting a national emergency,” Mr. Conte said in the televised press conference. “Don’t worry. We will get through this.”

A draft decree seen by The Wall Street Journal said the lockdown would involve 11 provinces in

addition to all of Lombardy. Mr. Conte didn’t give a reason for the late addition of three more provinces.

Italy, which has had the largest number of infections outside Asia, is a test of how far Western countries are willing and able to curtail personal freedom of movement and lifestyle to contain the epidemic.

The move by the Italian government is reminiscent of measures taken in China, which put about 500 million people under full or partial lockdown. China’s moves appear to be having success as the number of new cases reported by the government has fallen steeply in the past week, and the daily number of new cases is less than in several other countries including Italy.

Italy had confirmed 5,883 coronavirus cases by Saturday, of which 233 people had died. Italy has tried to respond with moderate restrictions, such as banning many public events; before Saturday it had only imposed lockdowns on small areas in the country’s north, with a population of around 50,000.