Masked carnival reveller
Masked carnival reveller wears protective face mask at Venice Carnival, which the last two days of, as well as Sunday night's festivities, have been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice, Italy February 23, 2020. Image Credit: Reuters
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Rome: The Venice Carnival festival will close Sunday, several days ahead of schedule, because of the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, the head of the region said on Sky TG24 television Sunday.

"From this evening, we plan to stop carnival and all sporting activities until March 1," regional president Luca Zaia said in announcing a series of measures to combat the spread of the virus.

The carnival was due to close on Tuesday after opening on February 8.