Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of the Democratic Party of Italy's ruling coalition, said he had tested positive for nCoV.

"The doctor told me to be positive for nCoV," said Zingaretti, 54, in a video posted on Facebook today. "But I'm fine and I'll stay home for the next few days. I'll keep watching the things to do."

Zingaretti also said his family is complying with quarantine regulations and all the people he has been in contact with in the past few days are being contacted for medical tests.

"I said it before, let's fight. I will set an example and follow the rules set by doctors and scientists," he said.

Mr. Zingaretti has been the leader of the Democratic Party (PD) since 2019. This party, together with the 5-Star Movement (M5S), creates the ruling coalition government of Italy. The case of Mr. Zingaretti, who is also the governor of Lazio region, central Italy, where the capital Rome is, worries government officials who regularly contact him.

Italy's Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli has quarantined himself after one of his assistants became infected with nCoV. Attilio Fontana, governor of Lombardy, an outbreak of northern Italy, did the same.

Italy is currently the largest Covid-19 drive in Europe and the third largest in the world after China and South Korea with more than 4,600 nCoV infections and 197 deaths. The country also currently records the highest daily number of deaths from nCoV in the world.

The Italian government this week has ordered the closure of all schools, cinemas and theaters. The health agency said the average age of people who died from nCoV in Italy is 81, of which 28% are women and most have underlying diseases.

Analysts say the Covid-19 crisis will push the Italty economy into a fourth recession in 12 years. Credit rating agency Moody's has lowered its growth forecast for Italy to -0.5% by 2020.