ROME, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The novel coronavirus continued to spread in locked-down Italy on Tuesday, with authorities confirming that 8,514 people have tested positive and 631 have died since the epidemic first emerged in northern Italy on Feb. 21.
In addition, a total of 1,004 patients have recovered, said Civil Protection Department chief Angelo Borrelli, who is also the national commissioner in charge of the coronavirus emergency.
The numbers are up from an official tally on Monday evening of 7,985 people infected, 463 dead, and 724 recovered.
Borrelli said that among the deceased, a few were aged between 50-59 years, 8 percent were aged 60-69, 32 percent were 70-79 years old, 45 percent were aged 80-89 and 14 percent were over 90.
Of the positive cases, 5,038 are hospitalized with symptoms, 877 are in intensive care, and 2,599 are quarantined at home, Borrelli said.
The Civil Protection Department said that by region, there are 4,427 cases in Lombardy, 1,417 in Emilia-Romagna, 783 in Veneto, 436 in Piedmont.
Effective Tuesday through April 3, the government has placed the entire country of about 60 million inhabitants under lockdown in a bid to prevent the epidemic from spreading further.
The latest decree signed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extends all the measures that had been taken to isolate the northern region to the whole country.
The decree suspends all cultural, religious, trade and sporting events, including weddings, funerals and the Serie A football championship, and forbids residents from traveling outside their municipality except for demonstrable work or health-related reasons.
It shuts down pubs, movie theaters, museums, betting and gaming facilities, night clubs, places of worship, schools and universities, ski facilities, swimming pools, gyms, and spas.
It also says people must maintain a "personal security distance" of at least one meter from other people. Bars and restaurants can operate until 6 p.m., but only as long as they allow clients to maintain that distance.
