Italy’s far-right former interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has attempted to politicise the coronavirus outbreak in the country, attacking the Italian government for not defending the country’s borders.

On Sunday, Salvini, who is also the leader of the League party, called on the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, to resign “if he isn’t able to defend Italy and Italians”.

Salvini cited the docking of the NGO Ocean Viking rescue ship in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo with 276 African migrants onboard to say Italy needed “to make our borders armour-plated”.

Quick guide What are coronavirus symptoms and should I go to a doctor? Show Hide What is Covid-19? Covid-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a pandemic. What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes? According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case – about as serious as a regular cold – and recover without needing any special treatment. About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19. In the UK, the National health Service (NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either: a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

a new continuous cough - this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough? Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

The rescued asylum seekers were placed in isolation for two weeks to check for coronavirus, while the crew were confined to the ship. None of the cases in Italy, so far, have been linked to African migrants.

During a press conference in Genoa, Salvini said: ‘‘The government has underestimated the coronavirus. Allowing the migrants to land from Africa, where the presence of the virus was confirmed, is irresponsible.” Africa has so far had only one confirmed case of Covid-19, in Egypt.

On Saturday, the Italian authorities implemented draconian measures to try to halt the coronavirus outbreak in the north of the country, including imposing fines on anyone caught entering or leaving outbreak areas.

The number of cases of the virus in Italy has risen to 229 and six people have died. Police are patrolling 11 towns – mostly in the Lombardy region, where the first locally transmitted case emerged – that have been in lockdown since Friday night.

It is not the first time Salvini has exploited the coronavirus crisis to criticise the government and migrants. In late January, he attacked Conte over the landing of other migrants in Italy when the virus had not yet broken out in the country.

‘‘In Civitavecchia, 6,000 cruise passengers are stuck onboard for two suspected cases, while in Taranto the ports are wide open for 400 alleged refugees from who knows where. We must armour-plate our borders,” Salvini said on 30 January.

Referring to the League’s political exploitation of the outbreak, Paola de Micheli, the minister of infrastructure, called Salvini “a jackal”.

“Politics should be united,” De Micheli told journalists on Monday before the Democratic party’s national assembly in Rome. “Those like Salvini, who aspire to have a high-level institutional role, prove they are not up to the job.’’

Meanwhile, Conte has made it known he contacted Salvini but that the leader of the League did not answer his call.

“Yesterday, I also wanted to inform the opposition forces of the measures we were taking,” said Conte during an interview with Italian Tv La7. “I spoke to Giorgia Meloni [leader of the Brothers of Italy party] and I was unable to reach Berlusconi, who called me back today. The only leader I have not managed to reach is Salvini. I called him yesterday and sent him a message. He did not reply. If he had the decency to answer, I would have explained to him why stricter measures could not have been implemented before.”