The Italian government has announced extraordinary measures to contain the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday declared the entire country a “red zone,” meaning people should stay home except for work and emergencies.

The move expands the emergency measures already in place in northern Italy, which is where most of the more than 9,000 confirmed cases are.

As of Monday, 463 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported through the country.

In a televised address, Conte said that the rising number of cases and people being hospitalized required introducing even more drastic measures than those taken over the weekend.

By Sunday, nearly a quarter of Italy’s population had been placed on lockdown as the government moved to contain the respiratory virus in the north, including all of Lombardy and 14 provinces.

Conte’s speech was short on details but it served as a rallying cry for the nation to cooperate with officials and follow the restrictions in place.

He urged people to take precautions to safeguard their health and he introduced a new slogan for citizens to live by: “I am staying home. Italy is a protected zone.”

Italy has pledged $8.5 billion to help the economy weather the emergency.

The Rome region has ordered quarantine for all those arriving who’ve been in outbreak areas in the last two weeks. Violaters face three months in prison.

More than 20 U.S. colleges have canceled in-person classes due to the coronavirus, as of Monday morning. The colleges enroll a total of more than 200,000 students and include Columbia University, Princeton University, Rice University, Stanford University, Hofstra University and the University of Southern California, plus the University of Washington and a clutch of community colleges in Washington state.

Education technology specialist Bryan Alexander of Georgetown University has been leading an effort to track coronavirus-related higher education closures. He says he expects to see many more in the coming days and weeks. “Higher education has a very strong herd mentality, so I think once University of [Washington] made a shift to teaching online, I think that really got everyone excited.”

Many of the colleges announced that they were pausing in-person classes after students or staff members tested positive for the virus. Others, such as Midland University in Nebraska, announced only that they were canceling “out of an abundance of caution.”

Events for prospective students, like Stanford’s Admit Weekend, have also been canceled. But many campuses are following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are staying open when possible to offer housing and meals to students.

Research labs, including those investigating the coronavirus itself, will in most cases remain open. University of Washington spokesperson Victor Balta told NPR: “The campus is not closed; therefore any researchers who need to come to campus are able to do so.”

In addition, some of the colleges that have canceled classes, such as Rice and the University of Washington, are continuing to hold athletic events.

In most cases, colleges that have canceled in-person classes have taken steps to offer some instruction online in the interim, and those that are still holding classes are preparing to do the same if necessary.

Stanford spokesperson E.J. Miranda told NPR, “We are not canceling classes. We are implementing online instruction for the remaining two weeks of the quarter.”

Daniel Stanford, an education and multimedia professor at DePaul University, has been collecting resources put out by universities to help faculty shift to online teaching. His list includes learning management systems like Blackboard, videoconferencing programs such as Zoom and Shindig, lecture capture tools like Kaltura and free online course platforms like Coursera.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance allowing colleges to pivot quickly to distance instruction without needing to go through normal channels for approval of an online program. As for students, whose enrollment or academic standing may be disrupted, the department instructed financial aid administrators to “use professional judgement to make adjustments on a case-by-case basis” as far as financial aid amounts and eligibility.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that higher education institutions that have not yet identified the virus in their community take several steps now, including updating emergency operations plans, promoting basic hygiene and stepping up cleaning and disinfection protocols.

Once higher education leaders identify a case in their community, the CDC advises that they “determine if, when, and for how long” to suspend in-person events and class meetings. The CDC recommends that campuses try to maintain basic services, including housing and meals. For example, rather than serve meals in dining halls, the agency suggests alternatives like “grab-and-go” lunches.

The CDC also recommends that school leaders “help counter stigma and promote resilience on campus.” It advises that colleges work to “counter the spread of misinformation and mitigate fear” and that leaders “speak out against negative behaviors, including negative statements on social media about groups of people.”

On social media, students have been speaking out about the cancellations.

“@Princeton just cancelled in person classes for three weeks because of Coronavirus but they can’t replace the hand soap in our dorm that’s been empty for a week,” wrote a user who identifies as a member of the class of 2021.

On Sunday, a Twitter user who identifies as a student at Fordham University wrote, “Columbia cancelled class cause 1 person was exposed to coronavirus meanwhile fordham is staying open with like 5 people exposed.” The next day, Fordham canceled classes.

Israel is taking the extraordinary step of requiring a 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the country, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday. Israel has reported nearly 40 cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Netanyahu said the decision had been a difficult one, in a brief video in which he announced the new policy on social media. He added that the quarantine policy, which will force people flying into Israel to enter a two-week home isolation period, will be in effect for two weeks.

The policy will go into effect for visitors to Israel on Thursday. The quarantine requirement is believed to be the first in the world in response to the coronavirus outbreak that has now killed more than 3,800 people.

“Foreign nationals who cannot self-quarantine will be refused entry,” NPR’s Daniel Estrin reports. He adds, “All Israelis returning from abroad must self-quarantine.”

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman had predicted the move earlier Monday, calling it a “necessary step.” He also dismissed reports in Israeli media that portrayed Israel’s declaration of a universal quarantine on visitors as a concession to the United States, to avoid appearing to single out a staunch ally of Israel.

That allegation was “fake news,” Litzman said, according to The Times of Israel.

One day before announcing the policy, Netanyahu spoke by phone with Vice President Pence, who is leading the Trump administration’s U.S. coronavirus effort. On Monday, the vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Israeli policy.

There are more than 110,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide, according to a dashboard created by Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering. Local transmission of the coronavirus that causes the disease has now been reported in at least 56 countries, the World Health Organization says.

Updated at 11:40 a.m. ET

The number of people with the coronavirus in the U.S. more than doubled over the weekend, from 260 on Friday to 566 on Monday, causing school closures and other disruptions to daily life as the virus spread to new parts of the country.

Financial markets have been rattled by the outbreak and a shakeup in the oil market, and trading on the New York Stock Exchange was halted for 15 minutes Monday morning when the S&P 500 index plummeted 7% just minutes after the open of business.

Worldwide, there are more than 110,000 COVID-19 cases, including more than 7,000 in South Korea, Italy and Iran, according to a dashboard created by the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. France, Germany and Spain are each now reporting more than 1,000 cases.

As health officials prepare to take infected people off a cruise ship in Oakland, Calif., federal agencies are telling Americans to avoid cruise ships altogether.

“U.S. citizens, especially with underlying conditions, should not travel by cruise ship,” the State Department said on Sunday.

“As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues, there remains a risk of infected travelers and crew boarding cruise ships,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Trump had wanted Grand Princess passengers to stay on board

The Trump administration’s warnings about cruise ships come as the Grand Princess moves from its holding position 10 miles off the California coast to an industrial dock in Oakland, where it is expected to begin unloading passengers Monday.

The Grand Princess has been sailing in circles off the coast since late last week after a passenger from a recent trip died from COVID-19 in Placer County, Calif. At least one other case, in Nevada, has also been linked to that same voyage.

The ship has 3,533 people on board — including at least 21 who have tested positive for the coronavirus, out of 46 people who were in the first round of testing.

The passengers will be taken off the ship despite previous comments by President Trump, who said on Friday that he would prefer to have all of them stay on board the Grand Princess – because the arrival of more infected people on U.S. soil would raise the country’s case total.

“I’d rather have the people stay,” Trump said, while also noting that he left the final decision in the hands of his administration’s coronavirus task force.

“I would rather — because I like the numbers being where they are — I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault,” Trump said.

In response to a reporter’s question about that statement, the president said he was not making coronavirus numbers — and the potential to minimize the size of the U.S. outbreak — a higher priority than treating the sick.

“No,” Trump said. “I’m saying whatever it is that takes precedence over the numbers.”

Trump then repeated that he liked the then-current figure, of 240 cases in the U.S.: “I would rather have the numbers stay where they are. But if they want to take them off, they’ll take them off.”

Grand Princess crew’s destination is in limbo

When 2,422 passengers finally get off the ship, a small number will go to hospitals for urgent care. The remainder will be divided into several groups, depending on where they’re from. In addition to Americans, more than 50 nationalities are represented on board, according to Princess Cruise Lines.

The infected people on the Grand Princess include two passengers and 19 crew members. But while the ship’s guests will begin disembarking on Monday, nearly all of its 1,111 crew members will remain on board and sail back out of San Francisco Bay.

“Plans for a crew quarantine are still being determined,” Princess Cruises says.

It will likely take days to accomplish the complicated task of getting passengers off the ship, NPR’s Eric Westervelt reports for Morning Edition.

“Californians are going to be taken to one of two military bases, one north, one south” in the state, Westervelt says.

“Depending on where they’re from, other U.S. citizens are going to be taken to bases in Georgia and Texas. All will undergo a two-week quarantine. And then there are hundreds of foreign passengers. The State Department’s helping to get chartered flights for them. Canada’s sending a plane to collect 200 of its citizens.”

To prevent the coronavirus from spreading, the CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or using a hand sanitizer if a sink isn’t available. The World Health Organization says people should wear face masks only if they’re sick, or caring for someone who is.

“For most people, COVID-19 infection will cause mild illness; however, it can make some people very ill and, in some people, it can be fatal,” the WHO says. “Older people, and those with pre-existing medical conditions (such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease or diabetes) are at risk for severe disease.”