The death toll from Coronavirus outbreak has risen by 31 per cent in 24 hours in Italy as governments across Europe have cancelled events, shut schools and imposed travel bans on residents.
Italy’s civil protection service said the number of deaths rose to 827 on Wednesday, which represents a 31 per cent surge.
Also, the total number of cases in the EU member state that has been by far the hardest hit by the virus rose to 12,462 from 10,149.
The country, which on Monday banned its 62 million people from all travel unless certified as justified on professional or health grounds, faced calls to impose even tighter restrictions in the country’s most Coronavirus-affected areas.
Italy’s Civil Protection Chief, Angelo Borrelli, said requests from senior politicians, including the opposition League leader Matteo Salvini, to “close everything” bar supermarkets and pharmacies in the orthern Lombardy and Veneto regions “must be examined, considered and assessed”.
