Italy has cancelled a number of events due to the coronavirus outbreak, tourism officials have confirmed. There are now 152 confirmed cases of the virus in Italy, making the country the largest focus of infections outside of Asia, with the majority of the cases occurring in the Lombardy and Veneto regions.
Venice, which is in Veneto, has cancelled the last two days of Carnival celebrations, which had been scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. One of the most iconic Carnival celebrations worldwide, the event draws approximately 3 million tourists yearly to the city.
In Milan, which is part of the Lombardy region, officials have limited access to many Milan Fashion Week events. That series has been taking place from February 18 – 24. Other events in the city have likewise been postponed or cancelled, tourism officials report:
- Moncler Genius 2020 has been cancelled
- The Mido fair, originally scheduled for February 29 to March 2, has been postponed to the end of May
In the wider Lombardy region, all public events – including those of cultural, recreational, sporting and religious nature – have been suspended, even if carried out in closed places open to the public. Officials have likewise suspended access to museums and other cultural institutions. Schools are also closed.
Most cruise line's are not based in Venice at this time of year. A representative for Costa Cruises tells Travel Agent that the line has no cruises originating in the city, but that it is monitoring the situation and will modify or adjust its itineraries accordingly.
According to the latest situation report from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are over 78,800 cases of the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, in 29 countries worldwide. There have been 2,462 people killed by the illness thus far, 17 of whom were outside of China.
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