Coronavirus death toll in Italy rises to 366 from 233 in one day, most cases in Lombardy

The coronavirus death toll in Italy’s region of Lombardy has jumped by over 100 during the past day to 257, according to local officials. Lombardy so far has been hit the worst by the outbreak plaguing Italy’s north.

The Lombardy spike has drastically increased the nationwide death toll which jumped to 366. On Saturday, it stood at 233. The all-Italy figures are expected to be released shortly.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy has also spiked, jumping by over 1,500 to 7,375 affected people on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte effectively put the Lombardy region and 14 other provinces into a lockdown for nearly a month. The government avoided using the word quarantine calling it a “reduced mobility” regime instead. Still, the lockdown looks pretty much like quarantine – the citizenry has been banned from entering or leaving the outbreak zones unless for an “essential work reason” or emergency.

Italy is experiencing the worst coronavirus outbreak in Europe – and one of the worst outside China. Its figures are on a par with South Korea and Iran, both of which have been heavily hit by the virus.

Globally over 106,000 cases have been registered, including around 3,600 deaths. The vast majority of them originate from China, and its Hubei province in particular, which has become ground zero for the epidemic. While the coronavirus appears to be gaining momentum globally, the viral situation in China has seemingly been improving over the past few days.

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