Rome, March 1 At least 1,049 people have been infected with the coronavirus in Italy, while the overall death toll has increased to 29, health authorities have confirmed.
"Some 543 people or 52 per cent of those affected are currently under house quarantine, since they are asymptomatic, or presents light symptoms and need no hospital treatments," Xinhua news agency quoted Civil Protection Department chief and Extraordinary Commissioner for the coronavirus emergency Angelo Borrelli as saying on Saturday.
Another 401 people (38 per cent) were hospitalized with symptoms, and 105 (10 per cent) in hospital in intensive care, the official added.
The death toll rose to 29, after eight more people died, with six in the worst-affected Lombardy region and two in Emilia Romagna.
The number of people who have recovered from the infection also rose to 50 from 46 on Friday.
"There are currently some 1,800 law enforcement officials and 800 Civil Protection volunteers deployed across the country to assist doctors and medical staff," Borrelli also explained.
Assessing the overall situation, National Institute of Health (ISS) President Silvio Brusaferro explained it was still too early to see the impact of the containment measures adopted on the infection evolution.
Italy first confirmed the coronavirus outbreak on February 21, when six cases of infection emerged in the small town of Codogno in Lombardy.
In response, Codogno and another nine nearby towns were put under lockdown in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. The same occurred to another town in Veneto, after another hotbed of coronavirus was registered in that region.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's cabinet passed a first package of measures to support households, companies, and economic sectors in the worst affected areas those put under quarantine in Lombardy and Veneto on Friday, and a second package to contain the impact on the overall domestic economy was announced.
( With inputs from IANS )