Image Credit: YOUTUBE
March 16, 2020 - 3:23 PM
The usually murky water in the canals of Venice has become more clear after Italy quarantined people to their homes and tourism came to a grinding halt thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This video shows the unusually quiet waterways through the city and says in the description the "canals of Venice are extraordinarily and incredibly clean, immobile and clear, because few… water buses and service vehicles pass by. For all other means, however, the service is suspended. The result is that the channels are clear and clean."
The worst-hit country in Europe, Italy closed schools and universities and urged people to stay home before the prime minister announced further restrictions March 11. Sky News reported all restaurants and bars have now been closed, as well as hairdressers and beauty salons, although restaurants can still make home deliveries. NBC News reported police stopping people walking on the street and told them to go home, with violators facing fines or even jail.
READ MORE: What's next? Here's what other countries are doing in response to COVID-19
To help people cope, Italy is suspending mortgage payments for individuals to soften the economic blow of the COVID-19 on households, the BBC reported. An Italian banking lobby group said lenders would also offer payment holidays to small companies.
In Canada, the federal government has closed its borders to foreign nationals except Americans and is barring anyone, including Canadian citizens, with symptoms of the novel coronavirus from boarding flights to this country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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