Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government on Sunday prepared Italians for a "very long" lockdown, despite its economic hardship and traumatic impact on daily lives, news wires reported. The message from ministers and health officials came as Italy's world-topping death toll rose by 756, below Friday's record of 969, and the rate of coronavirus infections slowed to under 6% for the first time.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy went over 10,000 on Saturday, news wires reported. Officials said 889 more people died in the previous 24 hours, the second highest daily tally since the epidemic emerged on 21 February, and that total fatalities reached 10,023. Confirmed cases rose by about 6,000 to 92,472, the second-highest number of cases in the world behind the US.

The Italian Civil protection agency said Friday that 9,134 people have died with the coronavirus in Italy, 969 up on the number given on Thursday.It is the highest daily rise in deaths anywhere in the world since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, although around 50 of the deaths were cases carried over after not being included in Thursday's data, ANSA reported.

Coronavirus infections in Italy have not reached their peak, the head of the country’s national health institute Silvio Brusaferro said during a briefing on Friday - a day after more than 6,150 people tested positive and 712 died in single 24-hour period. At the moment it is also not possible to give an estimate of the number of asymptomatic people in Italy, who despite having coronavirus infection do not have symptoms or have very mild symptoms, he warned.

After four days going down, the curve of coronavirus infection Italy started rising again Thursday, with 4,492 more people positive for COVID-19 than Wednesday, ANSA reported, citing the data from civil protection department

Nine European leaders including Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte and French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday signed a joint letter calling for the creation of 'Coronabonds' to face the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, ahead of Thursday's EU summit, ANSA reported. The letter was signed by Spain, France, Portugal, Slovenia, Greece, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy, the Italian premier's office at Palazzo Chigi said.

Fatalities in Italy from coronavirus have surged in the last 24 hours, the Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday, dashing hopes the epidemic in the world’s worst hit country was easing after more encouraging numbers in the previous two days.

Vincenzo Boccia, President of Confindustria, the largest employers’ association in Italy, on Monday sent a letter to PM Giuseppe Conte asking him to reconsider the new decree about the closure of all non-essential production activities until 3 April, news wires reported.

The Italian government is closing all non-essential production activities in an attempt to slow the coronavirus pandemic, which Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described as the "greatest challenge since the Second World War." However, supermarkets, banks, post office and pharmacies will remain open, he added.

The European Commission agreed to suspend EU budget rules that limit borrowing, giving hardest-hit Italy and other governments free rein to "inject spending into the economy as needed" in order to fight the coronavirus. The so-called
‘general escape clause’ was proposed late on Friday among other rules to respond to the pandemic, which has triggered lockdowns in most EU countries and the closure of Europe’s borders.