Denying that Italy has been lax in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Italian Ambassador to India Vincenzo de Luca has said that the government in Rome took “immediate, progressive and serious” actions to contain the virus.
Also read | Italy shuts stores across country as death toll crosses 800
Italy has emerged as one of the worst-affected countries after the virus manifested in China’s Hubei province and has now spread to most parts of the world.
After Wednesday, when Italy saw a 30% jump in deaths due to the virus within a day, with more than 800 dead and about 12,500 people infected, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a shutdown of all commercial establishments except grocery stores and pharmacies.
Cites WHO praise
Asked if the measures came too late, Mr. Luca said even the World Health Organisation (WHO) had praised Italy for responding “energetically”.
“Since the beginning of the emergency, our government adopted restrictive measures that were extended to the