Italy has ordered all major sporting events throughout the country, including top-flight Serie A football games, to be played without fans until April 3 at the earliest in a bid to curb coronavirus outbreak. 

The ban on the public watching sports events, which had already been in force in three regions in the north, has now been extended nationwide.  

The government decree said that "sports events and competitions of any order and discipline, carried out in any place, both public and private, are suspended" but could go ahead if there were no spectators. 

It added that "sports associations and clubs, through their own medical staff, are required to carry out appropriate checks to limit the risk of spreading (the coronavirus) among athletes, technicians, managers and all accompanying persons participating."

Earlier, Serie A has preferred to call off games rather than play them in empty stadiums and 10 matches have been postponed as well as this week’s two Coppa Italia semifinal ties, but Inter Milan chief executive Giuseppe Marotta admitted that “Playing behind closed doors could be the only way to complete the championship in the light of the emergency and the restrictions that the government is rightly adopting.” 

The move will also affect the Six Nations rugby international between Italy and England, due to be played in Rome on March 14, and the Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais on March 17. 

Earlier, all schools and universities were closed to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Italy where there have been more than 3,000 cases and the death toll has passed 100.