The figures make Italy the country with the highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe, and the fourth in the world after China, Japan and South Korea.

All the deaths, including four announced on Monday, concerned elderly people, most of them with pre-existing health conditions. A woman who died on Sunday was a cancer patient.

In response to the crisis, the Italian government decided on Saturday to seal off 10 towns in Lombardy and one in Veneto linked to the virus clusters, isolating more than 50,000 people.

Lombardy and Veneto are Italy's economic engines, making up about a third of national gross domestic product (GDP), so their possible paralysis is a major concern.

“The economic impact [of the outbreak] could turn out to be huge,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, adding that it was too early for estimates.

Schools, museums and universities were closed in much of northern Italy, and many companies told employees to work from home. Venice's famous Carnival was called off, and landmarks like Milan's Duomo cathedral were shut.

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“All of Northern [Italy] held ransom by the virus,” ran a front-page headline in the La Stampa newspaper, while La Repubblica daily wrote: “Half of Italy under quarantine”.

As online videos and photos showed empty shelves and long queues at supermarkets in Milan, Lombardy President Attilio Fontana said there was no need for panic buying, as food supply was “secured”.

Contagion fears were linked to a big drop in cinema attendance, with weekend ticket sales down 44 per cent compared to the previous week, trade association Anec said.

Borrelli said there were 172 cases in the Lombardy region, home to the city of Milan, 33 in the Veneto region around Venice, and fewer in Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont.

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Some 138 patients are hospitalised, including 27 under intensive care, while 94 less serious cases are under isolation at home, the civil protection agency chief said.

Italy's neighbours were fretting about the public health crisis.

Austria briefly blocked incoming rail traffic from Italy after two suspected cases were detected on a Venice-Munich train. They tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

Italy ruled out closing its national borders and suspending Europe's free-travel Schengen rules, and proposed instead talks with health ministers of neighbouring countries to take coordinated action.

Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said the meeting would take place in Rome on Tuesday, also involving counterparts from Slovenia, Switzerland, France and Germany.

Also on Tuesday, a team of World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Union experts were expected in Italy to discuss the coronavirus situation.

Further afield, 40 Italians from Lombardy and Veneto were refused disembarkation from an Alitalia flight upon landing in Mauritius, and told they had to go under quarantine.

In a statement, Alitalia said it was arranging for their “immediate” return home, and added that the 40 had not reported any symptoms of the disease.

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In Rome, Borrelli stressed that Italy was still safe for foreigners.

“We have recorded two clusters in our country, we intervened with extensive and tough measures and therefore we think that our country is safe and that you can come [here] with no problems,” he said.

EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic, speaking in Brussels, warned member states against taking rash decisions, such as suspending Schengen rules.

Lenarcic's comments came as the WHO on Monday received its biggest pledge of funds to support global initiatives to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The money is part of a package totalling €232 million that will also provide funds directly to health authorities in Africa and an EU-based initiative to develop diagnostics and treatment.