Italy coronavirus deaths cross 1,800 amid lockdown

By Giada Zampano

ROME (AA) - Italy on Sunday reported 368 new deaths from coronavirus, raising the total number of fatalities in the country to 1,809.

This is the highest jump in the death toll in a single day since the start of the outbreak in the country.

According to the latest figures provided by the Italian Civil Protection Department, the total number of confirmed cases have risen by 16% to reach 20,603.

The Italian government is hoping that strict containment measures – including a near-total lockdown of the country – would help curb the spread of the virus, which has now its epicenter in Europe.

But until now the figures are not showing any turnaround, with the northern Lombardy region remaining the worst-hit, with over 1,200 deaths and almost a half of the infected people located there.

The Italian government is finalizing on Sunday a much-awaited package of economic measures for up to €15 billion ($16.7 billion) aimed at helping families and businesses cope with the heavy fallout from the outbreak.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the virus known as COVID-19 has spread to at least 141 countries and territories.

The global death toll from the virus has surpassed 5,700 with more than 152,000 cases confirmed worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, which has declared the outbreak a pandemic.

However, a vast majority of those infected recover from the illness.