ROME (Reuters) – The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has risen by 49 to 197, the Civil Protection Agency said on Friday, the largest daily increase in fatalities since the contagion was uncovered two weeks ago.
Mannequins wearing protective masks stand in a shop display window after a government decree to close schools, cinemas and theatres, and recommending that people do not shake hands or hug each other and that they maintain a distance of at least one metre, in Rome, Italy, March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Italy is currently reporting more deaths per day from the virus than any other country in the world and the government this week ordered the closure of schools, universities, cinemas and theaters around the country to try to stem the infections.
The cumulative number of cases in the country, which has been the hardest hit in Europe by the epidemic, totaled 4,636 compared with 3,858 on Thursday.
China, where the outbreak began, had 80,711 confirmed cases and 3,045 cumulative cases, 30 of them reported on Friday by the World Health Organisation.
The Vatican, an independent state that sits in the heart of Rome, registered its first case on Fri