Europe

Italy has first coronavirus death

Number of cases of infection in country rises to 17

A health worker wearing a protective suit and face mask outside the Codogno Civic Hospital, in Lodi, northern Italy. A man (38), who is believed to have got the virus after dining with a friend who had come back from China, has been admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital. Photograph: Andrea Fasani/EPA
A health worker wearing a protective suit and face mask outside the Codogno Civic Hospital, in Lodi, northern Italy. A man (38), who is believed to have got the virus after dining with a friend who had come back from China, has been admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital. Photograph: Andrea Fasani/EPA
Fri Feb 21 2020 - 23:44

Italy has reported its first coronavirus fatality, a 78-year-old man who died on Friday night, Venice’s regional governor said. He was from the town of Monselice, near the northern city of Padua, Corriere della Sera reported.

Italy reported 14 new coronavirus cases on Friday, including the country’s first locally transmitted infection. That brings the total cases in the country to 17, with local media reporting that at least two more suspected patients have been hospitalised. – (Bloomberg)