Italy cancels Venice carnival in bid to halt spread of virus

CODOGNO, Italy — Scrambling to contain a rapidly rising number of new coronavirus infections in Italy, the largest amount outside Asia, Italian authorities step up measures to ban public gatherings, including stopping Venice’s famed carnival events, which has drawn tens of thousands of revelers to a region that is now in the heart of the outbreak.

“The ordinance is immediately operative and will go into effect at midnight,” announces Veneto regional Gov. Luca Zaia, whose area includes Venice. Carnival, which draws tens of thousands of visitors to the lagoon city, would have run through Tuesday. Buses, trains and other forms of public transport — including boats in Venice — were being disinfected, Zaia tells reporters.

Authorities say three people in Venice have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, all of them in their late 80s and who are hospitalized in critical condition.

Nearly all of Italy’s 133 cases are clustered in the north, at least 25 of them in the Veneto region.

— AP