The patient was an 84-year-old man who died in hospital in Bergamo, in the north-western region of Lombardy, the Italian media reports.
Three people are now confirmed to have died in Lombardy and one in the north-eastern region of Veneto, all of them over 75.
The victims include a woman with cancer, a 77-year-old woman and a 78-year-old man.
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More than 150 people have now tested positive for the new coronavirus in Italy, which now has more confirmed cases than any other countries except China and South Korea.
According to the regional president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, by Monday morning the number of people testing positive had reached 165.
Most known patients are in Lombardy and had not recently travelled to China.
Authorities believe many cases can be traced back to a 38-year-old man whom authorities have called “patient one”. Investigators are reconstructing minute by minute his movements over the past few weeks — where he slept, ate, walked — in a bid to trace everyone he could have come into contact with.
The outbreak has prompted a series of security measures to try to check the spread of the virus, known officially as COVID-19.
Eleven towns — ten in Lombardy and one in Veneto — are under lockdown, with some 50,000 residents prohibited from leaving. Regional authorities have ordered gathering spots, such as bars, restaurants and discos to close.
The spread of the virus has disrupted high profile events including Milan Fashion Week and the Venice Carnival while Serie A football matches have been postponed. Operas have also had to be cancelled at Milan’s famed La Scala.
Source:thelocal.it