Photos show what Italy is like under lockdown as the country became Europe's epicenter of the coronavirus with more than 200 cases reported in 3 days

Italy, a country filled with tourist destinations like Venice's canals and Rome's Colosseum, is now dealing with a sudden and threatening outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.

It's been a concern for tourists for months, and as far back as January, masks were already selling out in downtown Rome. The US Centers for Disease Control doesn't recommend uninfected people wear masks, but they can be beneficial for people who have symptoms of the virus.

Over the weekend, the virus spiked. In only a few days, three confirmed cases ballooned to 215 cases, with six deaths.

Outside of Asia, Italy now has the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world.

One Italian shop owner named Carlo Benuzzi told the Washington Post, "All the things you used to see in films that are far from us, now you see them here."

Lombardy and Veneto, both in northern Italy, are the two regions with the most confirmed cases. According to the Financial Times, they make up about a third of Italy's economy, and the virus's impact could be damaging to its struggling economy.

Source: FT

In Milan, Lombardy's capital, the streets are deserted. As of Monday, the region had 167 confirmed cases.

Despite Milan appearing abandoned, it's not an easy city to contain. It has the second busiest airport in Italy, and trains constantly pass through, with daily routes to Rome.

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte told RAI, Italy's state broadcaster, he was surprised by the "explosion of cases," and his government was doing everything it could to contain the virus.

Source: FT

Italian authorities are trying to minimize the virus' ability to spread. They have cancelled sports games, as well as closed schools, universities, restaurants, and tourist attractions, like the Duomo cathedral in Milan.

Milan's fashion week was impacted, although not hugely. On Sunday, fashion designer Giorgio Armani held a show without a live audience. Instead, people could watch it via livestream.

For Venice, where two cases have been confirmed, authorities suspended the final two days of the famous Venice Carnival.

Sources: CNN, FT

It's a much-loved occasion and some people still participated with traditional outfits.

For a while, at least, people in Venice were sporting two very different types of masks — one for the carnival and one for the virus ...

... or a combination of the two.

In Ivrea, another northern city, a traditional festival known as the "Battle of the Oranges" was also suspended.

Things escalated late on Saturday. A dozen Italian towns were put on lockdown. According to a BBC map, the largest cluster of towns are to the southeast of Milan, while another town is to the west of Venice.

Masked police are monitoring checkpoints. Anyone who wants to enter or leave requires special permission. The quarantine in the towns affects about 50,000 people.

One resident named Andrea Casilas, from Vo'Euganeo, a town that's blocked off, told AP, "This wasn't a very exciting place to begin with. Since we can't go to the bar, there's no much left to do."

Source: AP

And people, fearing that there could be worse to come, are cleaning out supermarkets.

A woman named Colette Walsh, who lives in Lissone, told the BBC that people were "panic-buying" and shelves were already empty.

On Monday, as numbers continued to rise, officials still weren't sure how the virus entered Italy.

Outside of Italy, the rest of Europe is taking it seriously. Borders are being monitored, and a train heading to Austria was stopped until a person with flu-like symptoms was given the all-clear.

For now, Italy is trying to stop the virus from spreading. It's own all-clear could be weeks away, if not longer.

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Photos show what Italy is like under lockdown as the country became Europe's epicenter of the coronavirus with more than 200 cases reported in 3 days

Italy, a country filled with tourist destinations like Venice's canals and Rome's Colosseum, is now dealing with a sudden and threatening outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.

It's been a concern for tourists for months, and as far back as January, masks were already selling out in downtown Rome. The US Centers for Disease Control doesn't recommend uninfected people wear masks, but they can be beneficial for people who have symptoms of the virus.

Over the weekend, the virus spiked. In only a few days, three confirmed cases ballooned to 215 cases, with six deaths.

Outside of Asia, Italy now has the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world.

One Italian shop owner named Carlo Benuzzi told the Washington Post, "All the things you used to see in films that are far from us, now you see them here."

Lombardy and Veneto, both in northern Italy, are the two regions with the most confirmed cases. According to the Financial Times, they make up about a third of Italy's economy, and the virus's impact could be damaging to its struggling economy.

In Milan, Lombardy's capital, the streets are deserted. As of Monday, the region had 167 confirmed cases.

Despite Milan appearing abandoned, it's not an easy city to contain. It has the second busiest airport in Italy, and trains constantly pass through, with daily routes to Rome.

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte told RAI, Italy's state broadcaster, he was surprised by the "explosion of cases," and his government was doing everything it could to contain the virus.

Italian authorities are trying to minimize the virus' ability to spread. They have cancelled sports games, as well as closed schools, universities, restaurants, and tourist attractions, like the Duomo cathedral in Milan.

Milan's fashion week was impacted, although not hugely. On Sunday, fashion designer Giorgio Armani held a show without a live audience. Instead, people could watch it via livestream.

For Venice, where two cases have been confirmed, authorities suspended the final two days of the famous Venice Carnival.

It's a much-loved occasion and some people still participated with traditional outfits.

For a while, at least, people in Venice were sporting two very different types of masks — one for the carnival and one for the virus ...

... or a combination of the two.

In Ivrea, another northern city, a traditional festival known as the "Battle of the Oranges" was also suspended.

Things escalated late on Saturday. A dozen Italian towns were put on lockdown. According to a BBC map, the largest cluster of towns are to the southeast of Milan, while another town is to the west of Venice.

Masked police are monitoring checkpoints. Anyone who wants to enter or leave requires special permission. The quarantine in the towns affects about 50,000 people.

One resident named Andrea Casilas, from Vo'Euganeo, a town that's blocked off, told AP, "This wasn't a very exciting place to begin with. Since we can't go to the bar, there's no much left to do."

And people, fearing that there could be worse to come, are cleaning out supermarkets.

A woman named Colette Walsh, who lives in Lissone, told the BBC that people were "panic-buying" and shelves were already empty.

On Monday, as numbers continued to rise, officials still weren't sure how the virus entered Italy.

Outside of Italy, the rest of Europe is taking it seriously. Borders are being monitored, and a train heading to Austria was stopped until a person with flu-like symptoms was given the all-clear.

For now, Italy is trying to stop the virus from spreading. It's own all-clear could be weeks away, if not longer.

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