Italy has announced a sweeping coronavirus quarantine that will restrict the movement of about a quarter of the country's population in a bid to contain a widening outbreak.

Key points: People will be banned from entering and leaving Lombardy and 15 provinces until April 3

People will be banned from entering and leaving Lombardy and 15 provinces until April 3 Private and public events and venues have been suspended including cinemas, schools, weddings and funerals

Private and public events and venues have been suspended including cinemas, schools, weddings and funerals The Australian Government this week imposed advanced screening measures for travellers coming from Italy

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree just after midnight on Sunday (local time) that banned everyone moving in and out of Lombardy, Italy's richest region and home to the major city of Milan.

The ban also includes at least 14 provinces in neighbouring regions, including the cities of Venice, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Rimini.

The unprecedented clampdown will be in place until April 3 and may impact some 16 million people.

"Exceptions will be allowed only for proven professional needs, exceptional cases and health issues," Mr Conte said.

All museums, gyms, cultural centres, ski resorts and swimming pools will be shut in the targeted zones, while leave has been cancelled for health workers as Italy's hospitals sag under the pressure of the virus.

"We can no longer afford gatherings of people in these areas," Mr Conte said.

"Obviously schools and universities are closed, apart from distance learning. All civil and religious weddings, and funerals have been suspended."

Rush to evacuate ahead of quarantine

There were chaos and confusion in the northern Italian city of Padua in the Veneto region as word spread late Saturday evening that the government was planning to announce the quarantine.

Packed bars and restaurants quickly emptied out as many people rushed to the train station in Padua.

Travellers with suitcases, wearing face masks, gloves and carrying bottles of sanitising gel shoved their way on to the local train.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Australian Government advised all travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Italy and to reconsider the need to travel to 10 towns in Lombardy and one in Veneto.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday that travellers from Italy would face "advanced screening measures" when entering Australia.

That means they will be asked more questions at check-in and have their temperatures check on arrival.

Few tourists are seen in front of the Trevi fountain in Rome. ( AP: Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse )

Italy reports biggest daily increase in cases

On Saturday, Italy had its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the outbreak began in the north of the country on February 21.

In its daily update, Italy's civil protection agency said the number of people with the coronavirus rose by 1,247 in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 5,883.

Another 36 people also died as a result of the virus, taking the total to 233.

Around the world, more and more countries were bracing for a big increase in virus cases.

Western countries have been increasingly imitating China — where the virus first emerged late last year, and which has suffered the vast majority of infections — by imposing travel controls and shutting down public events.

After the city of Venice cancelled its cherished Carnival and governments warned citizens against travel to Italy, the epicentre of Europe's outbreak, the country is facing a possible recession.

"The surface of the Grand Canal is like glass because the boats that transport merchandise are not there. On the vaporetti [water buses], there are only five or six people," Stefania Stea, vice-president of the Venice hoteliers association, said.

ABC/wires