As numerous coronavirus cases in other European countries are traced back to Italy, travel warnings for the 11 Italian towns that have been on lockdown have been issued.

The impact is also hurting areas of Italy barely touched by the virus.

Italy’s tourism federation, Assoturismo, said up to 90 percent of hotel and travel agency bookings for March have been cancelled in Rome and up to 80 percent in Sicily.

School trips and conferences across the country were also called off.

Lombardy, which includes Milan, accounts for over half of the cases while Veneto and Emilia-Romagna have 15 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

All three regions have closed schools for at least another week.

In Veneto and Lombardy, closures also have hit museums, theatres, cinemas and most public offices, emptying cities like Milan, where many companies have permitted office workers to work remotely.

On Sunday, the French community church in Rome, St Louis of the French, closed its doors to the public after a priest was infected with the new virus.