Police at checkpoints, events scrapped as virus fears hit Italy

Police patrolled perimeters of virus-stricken town in northern Italy Sunday as tens of thousands of people were placed under lockdown and public events cancelled to stem Europe's worst outbreak of the new coronavirus."Virus -- Northern Italy under Siege," read Sunday's headline in the Il Fatto Quotidiano daily, as television stations delivered a steady stream of images of masked locals and hospital workers in protective suits."Virus Paralysis," read La Repubblica.