Francois-Philippe Champagne in contact with his counterpart in Italy

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says he is in regular contact with his counterpart in Italy to try to learn from that country's experience with the novel coronavirus.

Italy has gone into total lockdown, as officials restrict travel to 60 million people to limit the spread of the virus.

The country has confirmed more than 9,000 cases of COVID-19, and has reported more than 460 deaths.