The region, which surrounds Venice, has seen a rise in infections over the past week in an outbreak traced back to a resident who returned from an overseas trip and refused to go to hospital despite having symptoms.

In a new ordinance issued on Monday, regional governor Luca Zaia set a fine of €1000 for anyone who flouts quarantine rules – even if they have tested negative for the virus. 

If someone is caught leaving isolation to go to work, their employer is liable to pay €1000 for every employee exposed.

Meanwhile, health authorities are obliged to report anyone who tests positive but refuses to isolate to the police for possible criminal charges.

A 14-day quarantine is obligatory for anyone who enters Veneto from outside the EU, the passport-free Schengen Zone or the UK.

People who come into contact with someone who tests positive for the virus, or who display symptoms, must also self-isolate for at least two weeks.

On top of quarantining, people who travel for work must test negative twice before being allowed to return to their workplace.

While the new rules are only applicable in Veneto, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza has said he’s considering allowing hospitals to section people who refuse to be admitted for coronavirus.

“We all have to understand the virus is still circulating,” Speranza said on Sunday.

“As long as this is the case, we cannot think the danger is behind us.

“We are working every day to assure we do not return to the level of suffering we saw in March.”

Currently people who test positive can be fined up to €5000 and jailed for up to six months for failing to quarantine, but there is no way to force them to go to hospital if they refuse.

Veneto has traced at least five cases of the virus back to three businessmen who travelled to Serbia and Bosnia in June before returning to the cities of Vicenza and Verona.

One of the people they came into contact with has since died from coronavirus.

One of the men from Vicenza did not self-isolate when he got back and was slow to inform health authorities when he first developed symptoms or about who he had been in contact with since returning.

He also initially resisted going to hospital, where he is currently being treated in serious condition.

That man reportedly infected at least five people and forced another 89 into quarantine.