Rome, March 23 (RHC)-- The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has now topped 15,000, with over 340,000 confirmed cases. Italy remains the epicenter of the pandemic in Europe with nearly 5,500 deaths and 60,000 identified cases.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte instructed all residents to stay at home except to procure medicines and food, and ordered nonessential businesses to shut down for the next two weeks as the country scrambles to slow down the outbreak.
Italy has drafted its military to enforce lockdown orders in the hard-hit Lombardy region. It also has appealed to the U.S. military to assist with medical needs.
