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All schools in Italy will be closed for 10 days to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The country's government has also said that all sports events - including England vs Italy in the Six Nations rugby - will be played in empty stadiums.

Italy is the worst affected European country with more than 3000 cases.

There have been 80,000 people, in more than 40 countries, infected with the virus, which first emerged in December.

The country's education minister said the decision to close schools and colleges until mid-March was taken after consulting a scientific committee.

In the UK, a coronavirus action plan says schools would only be closed if the outbreak becomes more severe.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that schools should stay open "if possible" and follow advice from Public Health England, which is the organisation in charge of keeping the nation healthy.