Coronavirus: Death toll in Italy increases by 168 in one day

The number of people who died due to the coronavirus in Italy increased by 168 to reach 631 on Tuesday, an alarming 36% increase in a single day.

The region of Lombardy alone saw 135 deaths today.

The number of new infections in Italy also increased, by 6.6% or 529 cases, compared to Monday, reaching over 10,000, of which around 1,000 have recovered.

Yesterday, Italian premier Giuseppe Conte announced a country-wide lockdown, in a bid to control the outbreak which has pushed Italy’s hospitals to their limit.

The country went from having only a few dozen cases to the second-largest death toll after China in under three weeks.

In Malta, the number of cases has so far has reached five, with all instances of infection having been imported to Malta, and no cross-transmission in the community having been reported in people who aren’t family members.

As of 8am this morning, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported 14,890 coronavirus cases in the EU/EEA and the UK, although this does not factor in the large increase in cases in Italy throughout the day.

Since 31 December 2019 and as of the morning of 10 March, 2020, there have been 114,242 Covid-19 cases worldwide, including over 4,000 deaths.