The Italian government has ordered the closure of all schools and universities as Rome stepped up its effort to contain the largest coronavirus outbreak in Europe. 

Italy is struggling to halt the spread of a virus that has killed 107 people in the country and infected more than 2,700. Eleven towns in Italy’s wealthy north — and their 50,000 residents — are under lockdown while public gatherings and sporting events have been banned in the most affected regions.

Schools and universities are already closed in several of the northern regions at the centre of the outbreak, including Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna. But the decision to extend the closure across the entire country underlines the seriousness of the situation. Japan last month  shut all of its schools until April 8.