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Italy Shuts Down Shops, Restaurants After Virus Toll Rises

All stores other than groceries, pharmacies will be closed
Prime minister urges Italians to avoid runs on supermarkets

Italy Orders Closure of All Shops Except Groceries, Pharmacies

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By Jerrold Colten, Marco Bertacche, and Tommaso Ebhardt

March 11, 2020 at 9:07 PM UTC

Updated on

March 12, 2020 at 5:41 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Italy on Thursday moved to virtually bring a halt to normal life, paring the economy down to just essential services in a desperate bid to stem the advance of the deadly coronavirus.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered all shops in the country to close except for grocery stores, pharmacies and few others until March 25. The total number of fatalities from the virus has risen to 1,016 from 827, and total cases now stand at 15,113, up from 12,462, civil protection officials said.