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Some schools in the UK have begun sending pupils home after fears over coronavirus in Italy.

Recently the virus has spread to Italy and there are now more than 300 cases in the country.

Several towns in northern Italy have now been put on lockdown to keep people safe.

But it's also got a lot of people nervous, as many UK pupils went on school ski trips to Italy during half term.

Which UK schools are affected?

Several schools in England and Northern Ireland have advised staff and students to stay home after they returned from skiing trips in northern Italy.

They include Brine Leas School in Nantwich, Salendine Nook High School in Huddersfield, Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough and Newquay Tretherras in Newquay.

And Cransley School, a private school in Cheshire, closed completely after 29 pupils and five members of staff returned from Bormio, a Lombardy ski resort.

The schools say they are doing this as a precaution, based on the government's advice, and say it's necessary to make sure pupils and teachers are safe.

What are doctors advising?

The latest advice from the government says that people coming back from the exact Italian towns above should call NHS 111, stay indoors and avoid contact with others, even if they do not have symptoms.

Anyone coming back from other parts of northern Italy are being told to only call NHS 111 if they develop symptoms.

More is also now being done to check people for symptoms of coronavirus.

"Random" tests are going to be carried out on some patients with flu-like symptoms, including coughs, fevers or shortness of breath - even if they haven't travelled to a place where the virus is spreading.

Until now, people who've recently come back from China, South Korea and northern Italy (countries where there has been an outbreak) were tested only if they displayed symptoms.

The aim of the checks, which will be at 11 hospitals and 100 GP surgeries across the UK, is to provide an "early warning" if the virus is spreading.

Public Health England medical director, Professor Paul Cosford, said: "If we do get to the position of a more widespread infection across the country, then it will give us early warning that's happening."

What's happening in Italy?

It's not clear how the coronavirus spread to Italy but the number of people who have the virus there has massively increased in a short space of time.

On Friday 21 February there were just three cases, now there are more than 300.

The Italian government has acted fast to try to protect people and to stop the situation from getting worse.

The country has put 11 towns into lockdown and people have been quarantined.

That means no one living there is able to leave, and hundreds of police officers are closely monitoring borders to make sure people stay in their homes.

Popular tourist cities like Milan and Venice are within these areas, and although they aren't on lockdown, precautions are being taken and schools, museums, discos, pubs and cinemas closed on Monday and will remain closed for at least seven days.

The disease is also having an effect on sport here in the UK.

On Wednesday, a decision was taken to postpone Ireland's men's and women's Six Nations games against Italy in Dublin on 7 and 8 March.

What should I do if I've just got back from Italy?

If you've been to one of the towns mentioned in the box above, then the advice is to stay at home and call NHS 111.

If you've been to northern Italy and have flu-like symptoms, then the advice is that you need to stay at home and call NHS 111.

If you've been to northern Italy and are feeling fine, then you don't need worry and you don't need to do anything.

Is it safe to go to Italy?

Italy is one of the most popular places in the world to visit and around three million British people travel to the country every year.

At the moment the Foreign Office has not advised people in the UK to avoid going to Italy.

That means flights are still going ahead as normal.

However they also say it is important to seek advice if you are going to areas that are affected.