ENTIRE regional govt of Italy’s Lombardy region to be screened for coronavirus after official tests positive for illness

Members of the local government in Lombardy, Italy will undergo medical screening, after tests revealed that a regional councilor tested positive for coronavirus. Italy has reported hundreds of new cases of the deadly illness.

Lombardy’s regional governor, Attilio Fontana, has reportedly quarantined himself after his government councilor for economic development was found to be carrying the virus. All members of the local government will now be required to be tested for the illness. Necessary procedures keeping with established protocols will be activated, depending on the results, the regional government said in a statement.

Italy is among several European states struggling to contain the virus. As of Monday, the country has confirmed 1,694 cases, with the death toll at 34, according to reports. An estimated 90 percent of the 1,694 cases in Italy are concentrated in the northern regions of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia Romagna.

Last month, Veneto regional governor Luca Zaia decided to end Venice’s famed carnival in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.

Although the coronavirus is present on every continent except Antarctica, there are not many examples of the virus infecting government officials or lawmakers. In Iran, at least seven officials, including the vice president, have tested positive for the illness. On Monday, Iranian media reported that a member of a council that advises the supreme leader died after falling sick from the virus.

The virus has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide, the vast majority in China, where the illness originated.

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