An Italian medical student was allegedly strangled to death by her boyfriend after he wrongly accused her of giving him coronavirus, according to local media.

Lorena Quaranta from Sicily died in Messina earlier this week, officials have said.

The mayor of Favara, her hometown, said she heard “the tragic news about the untimely death of our citizen Lorena” on Tuesday.

Her boyfriend, Antonio De Pace, reportedly told police he had killed her because he thought she had given him coronavirus, according to ltalian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.

Both tests reportedly came back negative.

Ms Quaranta was strangled at their shared home in Messina in northeast Sicily, according to an Italian news agency.

Mr De Pace called police to the scene and tried to take his life by suicide, ANSA reported.

The University of Messina, where the victim was a medical student, said it was hoping to have Ms Quaranta graduate posthumously.

In a post about the young woman’s death, the mayor of Messina said the nationwide lockdown was a particularly difficult time for victims of domestic abuse, and outlined the support available in the community.

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People in Italy have been told to stay at home as authorities work to combat the coronavirus outbreak unless it is deemed essential to leave the house, for example to get groceries or medicine.

The lockdown — set to finish this week — will now go on until at least 13 April, the prime minister has said.