A small town in northern Italy has reportedly stopped all new coronavirus infections as part of a successful experiment that involved blanket testing of the town's entire population of 3,300 people

The experiment involved blanket testing of the town's entire population of 3,300 people.

A small town in northern Italy has reportedly stopped all new coronavirus infections as part of a successful experiment.

Vò, near Venice, was one of the 11 towns and villages at the centre of the country's COVID-19 outbreak and began the trial at the start of the pandemic in Europe.

The experiment involved blanket testing of the town's entire population of 3,300 people and the imposition of very strict quarantine on those infected and their contacts.

Italian news reports suggest the town has not registered new cases since Friday.

"Testing was vital, it has saved many lives," mayor Giuliano Martini was quoted by the country's media.

Andrea Crisanti, an infections expert at Imperial College London, who has been involved in the village's efforts to combat the virus told Italy's broadcast media that continuous testing and retesting of the whole population made the difference.

Professor Crisanti said: "In Vo Euganeo we tested all the inhabitants, even those who were asymptomatic.

"All citizens were put in isolation, so they could not transmit the disease.

"On the second testing that was carried out, we recorded a 90% drop in the rate of positive cases. And of all the ones who were positive in the second testing, eight people were asymptomatic.

Professor Crisanti warned that that for every patient that shows symptoms for COVID-19 there were about 10 who don't.

"It is clear that you cannot test all Italians - but you can test people close to those who are asymptomatic. We must use asymptomatic cases as an alarm bell to widen our action," he said.

Italy has so far reported more than 2,500 deaths and nearly 28,000 confirmed cases a higher number than even China was reporting at the peak of the outbreak.

The World Heath Organisation this week called on all countries to ramp up testing programmes as the best way to slow the advance of the pandemic.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We have a simple message to all countries - test, test, test.

"All countries should be able to test all suspected cases. They cannot fight this pandemic blindfolded."

This comes as the UK government ramped up measures against the coronavirus pandemic following new predictions that the UK could otherwise have seen 250,000 deaths.

A new document published by the COVID-19 team at London's Imperial College - which is advising the government on its coronavirus response - warns the current public health threat is the "most serious" from a respiratory virus since the Spanish Flu in 1918.

They advised the UK adopts a strategy of "epidemic suppression" - for a period of potentially 18 months or more - rather than "mitigation".

In other developments across the globe:

• Spanish government says all hotels in Spain will close from 24 March
• All schools in Scotland and Wales to close on Friday
• Canada and the United States agree to ban non-essential travel between the countries
• Iran reports another 147 coronavirus deaths - its biggest 24-hour rise, taking the death toll to 1,135
• A town in northern Italy has reportedly stopped all new coronavirus infections as part of a successful experiment.
• Stock markets have gone back into reverse after a short-lived boost
• European Union leaders have agreed to shut down the bloc's external borders for 30 days
• French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says the UK needs to ramp up its action on coronavirus or "it will be difficult for us to accept British nationals within our territory"
• Eurovision Song Contest and Glastonbury Festival have been cancelled
• Turkey reports its first coronavirus death
• Whole of Belgium goes into lockdown, while Malaysia is in partial lockdown after its first two COVID-19 deaths
• World's 20 biggest economies are planning a G20 virtual meeting for a co-ordinated COVID-19 response
• The UAE bans its citizens from travelling abroad
• Libya introduces a curfew between 6pm and 6am to stop the spread of the coronavirus
• Taiwan bans foreign nationals from entering the island
• Road blocks across Venezuela are affecting food supplies
• West Virginia becomes the last US state to report a positive case of COVID-19
• North Korean state media reports leader Kim Jong Un has admitted the country lacks modern medical facilities
• Confirmed and suspected cases of coronavirus top more than 200,000 globally, including more than 8,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the outbreak