Coronavirus: refrain from greetings with hugs and kisses - health chief

(ANSA) - Rome, March 4 - Silvio Brusaferro, the president of Italy's higher health institute, has advised people to stop the traditional Italian greeting of kissing on the cheek as a part of the effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Hugs should be suspended during social interactions for the time being too. He also said people should frequently wash their hands, avoid crowded places and keep a distance of one to two metres from other people.
    People with respiratory conditions have been advised to stay at home. "We have to work for the country by staying within the rules and adopting lifestyles that halt the classic paths of transmission," Brusaferro said. Some 2,263 people have been infected with the coronavirus in Italy and 79 people have now died with it, emergency commissioner and civil protection chief Angelo Borrelli said Tuesday. Some 160 people have recovered, he said.