In the last 24 hours, 345 more people have died in Italy from the Chinese coronavirus, which brings the nation’s death toll to 2,503 on Tuesday, up from 2,158 on Monday — an increase of 16 percent in one day.

Newly released data from Italy’s Civil Protection reveals that the country’s death toll has jumped from 2,158 deaths on Monday to 2,503 on Tuesday, as well as 27,980 confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday to 31,506 on Tuesday.

Italy — which is Europe’s hardest hit country by the Chinese virus — has been on a nationwide lockdown since last week, while the coronavirus death toll and confirmed cases continues to rise, most of them heavily concentrated in Italy’s northern regions.

Lombardy remains Italy’s worst-infected region, which so far has suffered a total of 16,620 people infected by the Wuhan virus and 1,640 deaths, including 220 more dead in the last 24 hours alone, according to La Repubblica.

The report added that more than 8,000 people in Italy were reported failing to comply with quarantine rules.

Right now, people in Italy must fill out paperwork in order to leave their homes to buy groceries or visit hospitals, as officers are now stationed at checkpoints on main roads and at transport hubs, asking people to declare their reasons for travel.

The forms are known as “self-certifying” or “self-declaring.”

“The self-declaration form also arises from the need to manage any contact with people, for tracking, and any checks,” said Angelo Borrellim, the head of Italy’s Civil Protection.

“Between the interest of collective health and the interest in privacy we have found an excellent balance, but the first must prevail, otherwise the second cannot be protected,” he added.

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