European Parliament President enters self-quarantine as precaution

European Parliament (EP) President David Sassoli said he has self-quarantined himself at his Brussels home as a precautionary measure after having traveled to Italy over the last weekend.

European Parliament (EP) President David Sassoli said he has self-quarantined himself at his Brussels home as a precautionary measure after having traveled to Italy over the last weekend. "I have decided after having been in Italy over the last weekend, as a precaution, to follow the indicated measures and to exercise my function as president from my home in Brussels in compliance with the 14 days indicated by the health protocol," Sassoli said in a statement posted by the European Parliament.

Italy has imposed a country-wide lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus as the cases crossed 9,100 with 463 deaths reported as of Monday, Xinhua reported. Sassoli added that a country-wide lockdown would have consequences on Italian members of the European Parliament.

The novel coronavirus "obliges everyone to be responsible and to be cautious" and is "a delicate moment for all of us," Sassoli added. However, the European Parliament would continue to perform its duties even as the deadly virus is widespread in Europe.

Based on the latest situation in Italy, the European Parliament has updated its measures to protect health. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said that coronavirus has reached all countries of Europe.

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the novel coronavirus belongs to the family of zoonotic viruses that spread from animals to humans. The symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus include running cold, sneezes, and coughs while in severe cases respiratory problems, shortness of breath, kidney failure or even death.

The deadly virus originated in Wuhan, China has affected more than 105 counties and has infected more than 115,000 people globally with nearly 4,000 deaths. (ANI)

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