Italy has ordered 22 million masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus, an official said (file)
Rome:
Italy posted the second highest coronavirus number in the world on Sunday after reporting a sharp increase in deaths and overtaking South Korea due to infections.
The death toll rose to 366 on Sunday, according to the Civil Protection Agency. Most deaths occurred in the most affected region of Lombardy in the rich north of Italy.
The country now has the most deaths of any country outside of China and the second most common COVID-19 infections in the world after the number of cases rose from a daily record from 1,492 to 7,375.
South Korea currently has around 7,313 cases, and on Sunday announced that the infection rate has slowed.
Angelo Borrelli, chief of the civil protection agency, said Italy ordered 22 million surgical masks to stop the spread.
Over 15 million Italians got used to the life in the block after the government passed a decree that sealed off entire parts of the north, including the city of Venice and the financial capital of Milan.
However, it was not clear how strictly the order would be enforced or how the authorities could prevent people from leaving.
Preventive measures were also imposed on the rest of the country, including the closure of all museums and monuments.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)
