Adriano Trevisan, 78, died in Veneto, northern Italy on February 21, becoming the first person infected with corona virus to die in the country.

Retired mason Trevisan died at a hospital in Veneto, where 10 days earlier he was cured of an unrelated disease, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in Rome on February 21.

The number of infections in Italy spiked on February 21 with 17 new cases, all in northern Italy, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 20. Of these, 15 were confirmed in the Lombardy region and two. in the neighboring Veneto region, including Trevisan and a 77-year-old man.

Lombardy area officials on January 21 ordered the closure of schools, bars and other public places in 10 towns, asking about 50,000 people to stay home, to avoid going outside.

No new patient has ever been to China but the first case, the 38-year-old man in the town of Lodi, fell ill after meeting a new friend who had just returned from China. The patient's pregnant wife and one of his friends are also infected with nCoV.

Luca Zaio, regional governor of Veneto, said it was unclear how two individuals in his area were infected with the virus. "They certainly don't interact with infected people in Lodi," he said.

Before February 21, Italy recorded three cases of virus infection, including two Chinese tourists from Wuhan and an Italian repatriated on a government-arranged flight to take 56 citizens out of Wuhan. Since the end of January, Italy has suspended all commercial flights to and from China.

The Covid-19 outbreak has been reported in Wuhan, China, since December 2019, appearing in 30 countries and territories. More than 77,000 people were infected and 2,251 died.