ROME

Italy on Monday reported 349 new deaths from coronavirus, raising the total number of victims in the country to 2,158.

The latest figures provided by the Italian Civil Protection Department show that the total number of confirmed cases in the country also continues to rise, climbing 12% from Sunday to reach 23,073.

The Italian government is still hoping that stringent containment measures – including a near-total lockdown of the country – will at some point stop the lethal spiral sparked by the virus, which now has its epicenter in Europe and its highest number of deaths in Italy.

To help Italian businesses and families face the prolonged lockdown imposed by the epidemic, the Italian government on Monday approved a much-awaited package of economic measures for up to €25 billion, including incentives for workers who risk losing their jobs and baby-sitting vouchers for parents.

COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has so far spread to some 150 countries and territories, and the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a pandemic.

According to the WHO, out of roughly 165,000 confirmed cases, the death toll is nearly 6,500.