Italy to ban kisses, handshakes to stop coronavirus spread as death toll climbs to 107

The government also closed all schools and universities and prepared other emergency measures to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Europe’s worst-hit country as the death toll and number of cases jumped.

Twenty-eight people died of the highly contagious illness in Italy over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of dead to 107, the Civil Protection Agency said.

The number of cases since the outbreak surfaced 13 days ago rose to 3,089 from 2,502 on Tuesday. Of those who contracted the disease, about 3.5 per cent had died, the head of the agency, Angelo Borrelli, said.

Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said schools and universities all over the country would be closed from Thursday until at least March 15. Those in the northern regions most heavily affected by the epidemic had already been closed.