Coronavirus outbreak: Italy reports second death as virus spreads

Italy confirmed second death from coronavirus on February 22. The news comes just a day after the European nation reported its’s first death. In an unprecedented development, the deadly virus has reportedly infected over 77,700 people globally and killed nearly 2,300 with all but 15 deaths outside mainland China.  

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Belonged to Lombardy

The second Italian citizen to die from the deadly infection is a woman from the northern region of Lombardy, international media reported. On February 21, a 78-year-old man died making him the first European to die due to coronavirus. The elderly man from Veneto region who had tested positive for the virus died in the hospital where he had been admitted for 10 days due to health-related issues, according to Italy's health minister. 

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The deaths have prompted local authorities in Lombardy and Veneto to shut schools, businesses and restaurants. Nearly 15 people have been tested positive with the coronavirus across the country. The Italian health ministry ordered anyone who had been in direct contact with the three new infected patients to be quarantined for 14 days and called for residents of the two Lombardy towns where they lived to stay home. The first of the three to test positive for the virus was a 38-year-old Italian who had several meetings with someone who had recently been in China, said the Lombardy welfare chief, Giulio Gallera.

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Subsequently, his wife tested positive as did another person who came into contact with the man doing sports. The 38-year-old had first gone to the hospital on February 18 with flu-like symptoms but was sent home, only to see his conditions worsen. The person who he had met with had been in China and returned Jan. 21. Rome's infectious disease hospital is currently caring for three other people who were infected, including a Chinese couple from hard-hit Wuhan and an Italian.

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