Italy to ban public events to contain coronavirus - draft decree

Italy's government is set to close cinemas and theatres and ban public events across the whole country to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak, according to a draft decree drawn up on Wednesday.

The decree seen by Reuters orders "the suspension of events of any nature... that entail the concentration of people and do not allow for a safe distance of at least one metre (yard) to be respected."

The draft decree also tells Italians to avoid hugging and shaking hands to prevent as much as possible a further spread of the potentially deadly illness which has been mainly concentrated in the country's northern regions.