An Italian Finance guard (Guardia di Finanza) conducts control and gives indications to drivers at a check-point at the entrance of the small town of Zorlesco, southeast of Milan, on February 24, 2020. Photo: CNBC

State-run RAI radio and the ANSA and LaPresse news agencies reported that Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte had agreed on the closure during a Cabinet meeting. But Education Minister Lucia Azzolina told reporters that nothing is final yet and a decision will be made in the next few hours. 

The closure would be in effect from Thursday and will last until mid-March, and comes as authorities struggle to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Earlier Wednesday, Italy had the dubious honor of being the worst-affected country from the coronavirus outside Asia, having overtaken Iran in terms of the number of deaths and infections from the virus. 

The death toll in Italy jumped to 79 on Tuesday, up from an official total of 52 on Monday. As of Wednesday morning, there are 2,502 cases of the virus in Italy, according to Italian media reports that are updated ahead of the daily official count, published by Italy’s Civil Protection Agency every evening.  

Italy’s coronavirus numbers had surpassed Iran’s official infection count until the Islamic Republic released its latest official infection and death count. On Wednesday, it announced that 92 people had died from the coronavirus and 2,922 had been infected.  There is speculation over the accuracy of Iran’s tally of the epidemic.

The outbreak of the coronavirus has centered on Italy’s wealthy northern regions of Lombardy (with 1,520 cases), Veneto (307 cases) and Emilia-Romagna (420 cases). But it has spread throughout the country and now only one out of Italy’s 20 regions, Valle D’Aosta, is yet to record a case.

Italy’s health authorities said Tuesday they may set up a new quarantine area, a so-called “red zone,” to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported.

“None of us can be sure about the future evolution of the disease. This is an important week to understand what will happen,” Angelo Borrelli, head of the Civil Protection Agency, told a news conference Tuesday.

A new quarantined area could be declared around the city of Bergamo, northeast of Milan, to try to stem a sharp rise in cases there.