The Bologna Licensing Trade Fair has been rescheduled to later on in the year, owing to the latest European outbreak of the Coronavirus that has seen Italy go into lockdown in the last few days.

Originally scheduled for March 30th to April 1st this year, the Licensing and Book fair have both been rescheduled to take place this May, Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 as the country deals with what has been cited as the largest outbreak within a single European country so far.

Italy confirmed this week that the number of cases of Coronavirus within the country had now risen to 229, with seven deaths now recorded. Eleven towns across Lombardy  -where the outbreak emerged suddenly on Friday last week, and Veneto have been quarantined for at least the next 15 days.

The majority of those that have died from the Coronavirus in Italy have been elderly people who had also been suffering from other health issues. The latest was an 80 year old man in Milan.

Around 50,000 residents in the towns under lockdown have now been told to stay at home and avoid social contact, while schools, shops, and businesses – apart from chemists and some supermarkets – have been closed.

The Bologna Licensing Trade Fair made public its shift in dates via its social media pages and its own website where it will continue to post updates throughout the day.

Global analysts have warned of a major knock on effect on the worldwide economy as production throughout China still remains – at large – on lockdown with many of its factories closed under quarantine. The full-scale of the impact on industries and businesses is yet to be measured.