London: America's top public health agency has told US citizens they should not travel to any part of Italy, in a fresh blow to the country's struggling economy that will also be interpreted as a lack of confidence in efforts to stop coronavirus from spreading across Europe.

The number of confirmed cases in Italy rose overnight from 821 to 1128. Eight more people died from the illness, bringing the death toll to 29 in what is the worst COVID-19 cluster outside Asia.

Germany had no infections five days ago but the number has now exceeded 60, with many cases linked to people who had been travelling through Italy's affected northern regions. The French government announced it would ban indoor gatherings of 5000 or more people and said 73 patients were being treated for coronavirus.

Overall, 14 countries have reported cases with obvious connections to the Italian outbreak.