Italy’s Prime Minister has added drastic new restrictions for all shops to be shut apart from supermarkets, food stores and chemists. The European country has been put into lockdown as the coronavirus continues to spread. Sky News spoke to local pensioner Aurelio Fragapanni about whether he was worried about the outbreak.

In tears, Mr Fragapanni told them: “Yes, but not for me.

“For everyone. For people in general, for everyone from the North to the South. For all the elderly people, we heard many already died.

“Everything is closed, we need this. If the authorities launched these measures it is because they have to contain the virus.

“My message to the world is hold on. Hold on and hold on some more. Because we will overcome it.”

Italian officials say there have been more than 1,000 deaths in Italy.

Nearly 200 people died yesterday alone from coronavirus.

The number of cases has increased to more than 15,000.

Italy has the second highest number of confirmations behind China where the virus originated.

The lockdown will potentially be for 24 days, if not more.

Police are also forcing people to keep apart in public spaces as part of efforts to contain the spread.

Rules are being placed to keep people one metre apart during daylight hours.

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As the global death toll from coronavirus rises, the World Health Organisation has now declared that this is a pandemic.

Director-General of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time.

“WHO has been in full response mode since we were notified of the first cases. WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

“We have therefore made the assessment that Covid-19 can be characterised as a pandemic.

“We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic.”

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