The mayor of Bergamo, the city hardest hit by Italy’s coronavirus outbreak, has flown his daughters out of the UK because he says the British government’s response to the pandemic has been too slow.

Giorgio Gori, who has led the city since 2014, said the family had taken the decision because he viewed the UK’s response as so inadequate that his children would be safer at home, “even if we are at the centre of the epidemic”.

As of Monday night, there were 6,471 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the province of Bergamo.

Gori told Sky News: “I have two daughters, they are studying in England, one in Taunton in college and the other in Canterbury, she’s doing a master’s.

“And when I saw what the English government was thinking about this problem, I decided to bring them back, because I think that even if we are at the centre of the epidemic, probably they are more secure here than in England, because I don’t understand why the government didn’t decide in time to protect their citizens.”

Italy has been under lockdown for almost two weeks as it tries to contain the virus, which had killed 6,077 people as of Monday night. But there were some signs of progress on Monday, with the rate of new infections in Lombardy beginning to slow.

The situation in Bergamo, a province of 1.2 million people in the Lombardy region, has been particularly intense, with the sheer number of patients and deaths overwhelming hospitals and funeral services.

The army was deployed last week to transport bodies from Bergamo city to neighbouring provinces after the crematorium became overwhelmed.

The British death toll reached 335 on Monday, but critics of the government have accused Boris Johnson of acting too slowly and failing to enact measures that would slow the crisis.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that people ignoring advice to stay at home were “very selfish”, adding that the government was willing to take more action if needed.