ROME

Italy on Wednesday reported 475 more deaths from the coronavirus, a new record high that brings the total number of victims in the country to 2,978.

Latest figures provided by the Italian Civil Protection Department show that COVID-19 cases in the country have now reached 28,710, a 10% rise from Tuesday.

The Italian government is mulling over whether to further strengthen its already strict containment measures, which have brought the country to a near-total lockdown.

The hotbed of the outbreak in Italy remains the northern Lombardy region, which accounts for 1,959 of the total fatalities in the country.

Attilio Fontana, the governor of Lombardy, issued a desperate appeal to citizens on Wednesday, urging them to stay remain at home or face more stringent lockdown measures.

“Unfortunately, the number of infections is not decreasing. They continue to rise, and soon we will not be able to heal those who are falling ill,” he said.

Italy is the worst-hit country in Europe and has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world after China.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Europe as the new epicenter of the coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China last December.

According to WHO data, the virus has now spread to 164 countries and territories, and there were over 194,000 cases and nearly 7,900 fatalities around the world by Wednesday evening.