Italy's death toll has risen by 168 people in the space of 24 hours - with 631 people confirmed to have died after contracting the virus so far.

The increase in the nation's death toll marks the highest rate of fatalities so far for the Mediterranean nation which has been the worst affected country in Europe since initial cases were first reported on 31 January.

Officials in Rome added the number of those infected had broken into five figures - with 10,149 testing positive for Covid-19 compared to 9,172 the previous day.

The nation's Civil Protection Agency added that, of those originally infected, 1,004 had fully recovered compared to 724 the day before. Some 877 people were in intensive care against a previous 733.

It comes after the nation introduced some of the most stringent quarantine policies in the world - with the entire country facing travel restrictions and all public gatherings cancelled.

Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown Show all 12 1 /12 Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown The Via Partenope in Naples is empty after Italy was put on lockdown on 10 March Reuters Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown A waiter stands by empty tables outside a restaurant in St Mark's Square in Venice on 9 March Reuters Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown Empty stands during a football match between Sassuolo and Brescia at the Mapei stadium in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy on 9 March AP Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown Shops are shuttered on an empty street in Venice on 9 March Reuters Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown People keep a safe distance while lining up to enter a post office in Rome on 10 March AFP/Getty Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown A canal and the roads next to it are completely empty on 9 March Getty Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown A completely empty bridge in Venice on 9 March Getty Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown A canal pathway in Venice is empty after Italy was put on lockdown Getty Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown An empty square in Venice on 9 March Getty Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown A nearly empty tram drives through Milan on 10 March AFP/Getty Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown An empty bakery in Milan on 10 March AFP/Getty Streets of Italy empty in coronavirus lockdown An empty street in Milan on 10 March AFP/Getty

Restaurants and cafes must also close by dusk under government rules, while schools and universities will remain shut until 3 April at the earliest.

"We have adopted a new decision based on an assumption: that there is no time", the nation's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told citizens in a press conference last night.

Meanwhile a doctor on the front lines of the fight against the virus has warned the epidemic in the country was a "disaster".

Daniele Macchini, who is working in a hospital in the north eastern town of Bergamo said the outbreak was a “tsunami that has overwhelmed us” in a Facebook post.

“While there are still people on social networks who boast of not being afraid by ignoring directions, protesting because their normal routine is ‘temporarily’ put in crisis, an epidemiological disaster is taking place,” he wrote.