Italy’s coronavirus death toll has jumped by 97 to 463, as Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the outbreak as the country’s “darkest hour”.
The number of confirmed infections in Italy also increased to 9,172, up from 7,375 on Sunday, official figures show.
Italy is the worst-hit country after China, with cases of the virus confirmed in all 20 Italian regions.
Earlier on Monday, six inmates died amid riots at prisons across Italy over restrictions to control the outbreak.
Italy’s government has pledged to further increase spending to offset the economic impact of the outbreak as the country struggles to adapt to the most restrictive limits on movement since World War Two.
Up to 16 million people in northern Italy now need permission to travel under quarantine rules.
In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper on Monday, Mr Conte said: “These days, I have been thinking about the old speeches of [Winston] Churchill – it is our darkest hour but we will make it”.
The coronavirus causes Covid-19 disease. In severe cases, patients have pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and multiple organ failure that can lead to death.
What happened at the prisons?
The trouble began in the northern city of Modena after inmates at the Sant’Anna prison were told that all visits had been suspended.
Three people were reported to have died at the prison, while a further three died after being transferred from there.
It is thought that at least two of the dead lost their lives to drug overdoses after they raided a prison hospital for the heroin substitute methadone.
At San Vittore prison in Milan, detainees set fire to a cell block on one of the facility’s six wings, then climbed onto the roof through windows and started waving banners, officials said.
At a prison in the southern city of Foggia, about 20 inmates managed to break out of the building during protests. Many were quickly recaptured, Italy’s Ansa news agency reported.
There were also riots at several other prisons in northern Italy and at facilities in Naples and the capital, Rome.
How is the government responding?
On Monday, Mr Conte said the government would pump in more money to mitigate the impact of the outbreak.
He also said Italy would overcome the virus if people followed the rules, adding that the sacrifices required were for the good of all.
Italy is also seeking measures at EU level.
On Monday morning, the main share index in Milan, the industrial powerhouse at the heart of the worst-affected area, opened down more than 8%.
(BBC)
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