The head of Italy's civil protection agency said during a news conference that the total number reached 1,128 on Saturday. Officials also reported eight more deaths in the previous 24 hours. of people with the virus, bring Italy's total to 29.
Health authorities said they suspect the new cases confirmed since Friday involved infections acquired before Italy shut down 11 towns in northern Italy on Feb. 21. Other major countries have issued warnings for only defined areas of northern Italy where most cases of the new coronavirus are clustered. The national total reported by Italian health authorities approached 900 on Saturday, the greatest number of any country outside Asia. There have been 21 deaths of people with the virus.
The Assoturismo Italian tourism federation was already warning that the sector that is responsible for 13% of Italian GDP risked collapse from the virus outbreak's impact on travel. Virus cases in Italy exploded from a handful to hundreds after infection clusters emerged in the Lombardy and Veneto regions on Feb. 21. Venice, the Veneto region's capital, was recovering from a tourist lull tied to record flooding in November when officials cancelled the final two days of Carnival celebrations this week because of the virus. Bookings dropped immediately
Veneto and Lombardy -- dual engines of the Italian economy -- remain the hardest hit. Eleven towns, all but one in Lombardy, have been locked down, blocking the movements of more than 50,000 people living and working an hour's drive from Italy's financial capital, Milan.
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