The Italian Prime Minister on the coronavirus

The Italian Prime Minister on the coronavirus- The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has highlighted what he says was "a lack of correct management in a hospital” which would explain the rapid spread of the coronavirus in northern Italy. The Prime Minister added “that a lack of safety protocols contributed to the spread”.

The main focus of the epidemic has been identified in Codogno, near Lodi, 60 km south of Milan. Mattia, a 38-year-old executive, was hospitalized. He is considered to be "patient one" (or super spreader), from which a large number of further cases were identified in Lombardy, the region the most affected by the virus with 172 cases detected out of a total of 229 in Italy, including seven deaths.

According to media reports, in addition to his 8-month pregnant wife and other relatives, several of the doctors who examined him were infected, as well as nurses, carers and patients in their entourage.

The number of new cases remained stable on Monday in Italy, which is trying to stem the spread of the virus in the North considered to be the center of the epidemic.

The sudden outbreak of cases since Friday, going from 6 to 229 in four days, has made Italy the most affected country in Europe and the third in the world after South Korea and China.