All outdoor sports in Italy either must be canceled or played without a crowd on hand until at least April 3 in an attempt to keep the coronavirus from spreading, the Italian government announced Wednesday.
Italy has been ground zero for the virus in Europe, with 107 deaths and nearly 3,100 cases, the BBC reported.
"Sports events and competitions of all kinds and disciplines, held in every place, both public and private, are suspended; however it is permitted to carry out the aforementioned events and competitions behind closed doors, or outdoors without the presence of the public," the government decree reads.
The mandate means that all Serie A soccer games will be played in empty stadiums for at least a month.
Also impacted will be the Six Nations rugby matches scheduled for this month. Both the men's and women's teams from England are scheduled to play in Italy, the men on March 14 and the women the following day.
Six Serie A league matches were postponed last week, including the Juventus-Inter Milan game, one of the biggest contests on the schedule.
