Italy resorts to tough measures

Jail for breaking law

People who break the quarantine could face three months in jail, the BBC said.

Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of Italy's center-left Democratic Party, said on Saturday he had tested positive for the virus.

The World Health Organization has advised Italy to strongly focus on virus containment measures as infections spread in the country.

The plans echo China's quarantine of millions of people which the WHO has praised for halting the spread of the virus, the BBC said.

While US public health experts debate what to learn from China's measures to contain its coronavirus outbreak, some US states and cities are taking similar bold actions to delay the spread.

"Most experts agree that China's response slowed the spread of the virus to the rest of the world, and in that sense, bought time for other countries to prepare," Claire Standley, assistant research professor at Center for Global Health Science and Security of Georgetown University, said.

Following the confirmation of two cases of community transmission, San Francisco announced on Friday "aggressive new recommendations" for social distancing.

The city recommends people over 60, or with certain underlying health conditions, stay home as much as possible; it also recommends cutting back on the time spent in groups and canceling or postponing large gatherings.

Texas Mayor Steve Adler has preemptively canceled South by Southwest, the city's signature music, film and technology event, to delay the spread of the COVID-19.

The number of infections in the US swelled to nearly 400, and the death toll rose to 19. The Governor of New York state Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency there as cases jumped from 44 on Friday to 76 on Saturday.

In total, 21 people aboard Grand Princess cruise ship-19 crew members and two passengers-have tested positive for the disease. All on board are being tested. The vessel is headed to the port of Oakland, California, from San Francisco, according to AP.

Grand Princess Capt John Smith, in a recording provided by passenger Laurie Miller of San Jose to AP, said to guests, "After docking, we will then begin a disembarkation process specified by federal authorities that will take several days. Guests who require acute medical treatment and hospitalization will be transported to healthcare facilities in California."

Egypt confirmed 33 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday on a River Nile cruise ship, taking the total number of people infected on board to 45. Egyptian officials said those affected are Egyptian, and are not displaying symptoms, Reuters reported.

The ship carrying 171 people arrived in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor on Thursday from Aswan, further upstream, and was towed to a position outside the city and placed under quarantine.

More than one hundred countries have reported infections, with Colombia, Costa Rica, Malta, the Maldives, Bulgaria, and Paraguay having announced their first cases.