Venice carnival cancelled over virus threat

ITALIAN authorities have cancelled Venice’s famous carnival events in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus, as the number of infected persons in the country soared to at least 133.

Veneto regional governor Luca Zaia said the shutdown would begin yesterday evening.

Carnival, which draws tens of thousands of visitors to the lagoon city, would have run until tomorrow.

Authorities said three people in Venice have tested positive, all of them in their late 80s and who remain in hospital in critical condition. Nearly all of Italy’s cases are clustered in the north, including the north-east Veneto region.

Italians’ cherished Sunday routines – from football to churchgoing – were hit by the spread of the contagion. Sports events in the affected northern areas, including local children’s sports team practices and three Serie A matches, were cancelled.

Bishops in several dioceses in northern Italy issued directives that holy water fonts be kept empty, that communion wafers be placed in the hands of the faithful and not directly into their mouths by priests celebrating Mass, and that congregants refrain from shaking hands or exchanging kisses during the symbolic Sign of the Peace ritual.

In a coincidence, the Vatican official in charge of the office dealing with propagating the faith hails from one of the hardest-hit towns, Codogno. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, whose siblings live in the town, declined to dramatise the measures. “It’s obvious that we need to use all necessary prudence,” to avoid spreading the virus among the faithful, he said.

Italy’s first cases surfaced in early February. To date, two deaths – of elderly persons in the north – have been reported.