Italy cancels Venice carnival due to Coronavirus 

Italy has seen the largest number of coronavirus cases outside Asia. In order to put a curb on the spread, the government has put a ban on public gatherings. This means the famous Venice carnival has been cancelled. The Carnival would have run through the week. Buses, trains and other forms of public transport — including boats in Venice — were being disinfected to contain the virus. Authorities said three people in Venice have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, as Coronavirus is called now. All of them are in their late 80s and are hospitalized in critical condition. Nearly all of Italy’s 133 known cases are clustered in the north, at least 25 of them in the Veneto region. Authorities expressed frustration they haven’t been able to track down the source of the virus spread in the north, which surfaced last week when an Italian man in Codogno in his late 30s became critically ill. Italy has also tested millions of airport passengers arriving from other places for any sign of fever. In Lombardy, with 90 cases, so far the hardest-hit region, schools and universities were ordered to stay closed in the coming days, and sporting events were canceled. Lombardy’s ban on public events also extended to Masses in churches in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. Museums, schools, universities and other public venues will be shut as well in Venice and the rest of Veneto. The shutdown is expected to last at least through March 1.