Italy Locks Down Rich North as Conte Tries to Contain Panic
- Measures include a virtual ban on entry, exit in Lombardy
- Prime Minister takes responsibility in late news conference
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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tried to contain the alarm spreading through Europe’s fourth-biggest economy, unveiling drastic measures in the middle of the night to restrict the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
In a hastily convened news conference Sunday morning, the head of a government already hanging by a thread said that Italy will dramatically restrict movement and activity for a quarter of its population in the economic powerhouse that is the region around Milan.