COVID-19 outbreak: Italy reports 2,600 additional cases, deaths top 1,000

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

The Italy Ministry of Health reported a large number of cases in the past 24 hours. According to health ministry data, 2,651 additional cases were reported in the country, bringing to total to 15,113.

Nearly 200 additional fatalities were also reported putting Italy over 1,000 deaths (1,016).

Lombardy region in Northern Italy has been most heavily affected with 8,725 cases and 744 deaths.

The first two cases of Coronavirus in Italy, a couple of Chinese tourists, were confirmed on January 30 by the Spallanzani Institute , where they were hospitalized in isolation from January 29. On February 26, they were declared healed.

The first case of secondary transmission occurred in Codogno, Municipality of Lombardy in the province of Lodi, on February 18, 2020.

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio says he hopes his country will be the first in Europe to get over the emergency. “Italy was the first nation in Europe to be affected so badly,” said Mr Di Maio. “But I hope it also means that Italy is the first one to leave the emergency behind.”

Italian authorities say it could take two weeks for the impact of the restrictions to be seen on the coronavirus outbreak nationwide, which is still surging in towns and cities outside the initial red zone.

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