Eighteen people have been caught trying to escape an area in Lombardy, Italy, that has been quarantined due to the coronavirus. Twelve of the attempted escapees are foreigners.

Towns and villages in the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto have been quarantined for over a week due to the recent spread of the coronavirus.

Eighteen people in Italy — 12 of whom are foreigners — were caught trying to evade authorities in an attempt to escape the quarantined zone in the province of Lodi, according to a report by La Repubblica.

The Lodi province is located in Italy’s Lombardy region, just southeast of Milan, where Lombardy president Attilio Fontana quarantined himself after discovering that one of his staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.

Lombardy is the most heavily infected region in Italy, with 984 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far.

As for the 18 attempted escapees of the Lodi “red zone”, they will have to answer to authorities for violating the quarantine orders given by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte over one week ago, reports La Repubblica.

Italian Governor Quarantines Himself After Staffer Tests Positive for #Coronavirus https://t.co/rqaFYVSibJ — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 2, 2020

Meanwhile, the archbishop of Milan held a mass in the city’s Duomo for the first Sunday of Lent — in front of empty cathedral pews.

The public was able to view the mass, which was broadcasted on Italy’s Rai 3 television channel.

“There is nothing that can replace choral participation in the Sunday assembly,” said the archbishop of Milan, Mario Delpini.

“But at this time when it is not safe to gather in the assembly it is possible to devote the same amount of time that you would dedicate to silence, meditation of the Word of God, to prayer,” added archbishop Delpini.

As of Sunday, Italy has suffered 1,694 confirmed coronavirus cases and 34 deaths, according to Italy’s Civil Protection. However, 83 people are reported to have been “healed”.

Over the weekend, the U.S. State Department issued a Level 4 travel advisory — the highest of its four levels — urging Americans not to travel to the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto.

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