All 12 of those who have died so far in Italy were either elderly or had pre-existing medical conditions.

Italy’s 12th victim was a 70-year-old man from Sant’Angelo Lodigiano in Lombardy, the region most affected by the recent surge in the number of coronavirus cases.

Italian paper Il Messaggero reported that there were 258 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Lombardy, along with cases in the following regions: Veneto (87), Emilia-Romagna (47), Liguria (16), Piedmont (3), Lazio (3), Sicily (3), Marche (3), Tuscany (2), Alto Adige/South Tyrol (1) and Puglia (1).

In the past two days, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Georgia and North Macedonia reported their first coronavirus cases.

Many of them involved people who had recently been to Italy.

More cases were also announced in Spain, France and Germany.

On Wednesday, the EU stressed that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Europe is concerning but no reason for alarm.

“This is a situation of concern but we must not give in to panic,” EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told reporters in Rome after meeting Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza.

 “We must also be vigilant when it comes to misinformation and disinformation as well as xenophobic statements which are misleading citizens and putting in question the work of public authorities.”

Meanwhile, Italy’s European neighbours have pledged to keep borders despite the sudden outbreak.

They said closing borders would be a “disproportionate and ineffective” measure, even as numbers of infections continue to rise. 

While borders remain open, several governments have announced additional measures for incoming travellers, in particular from the two northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.

They range from medical screening to special gates at airports and recommendations to self-isolate.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has blamed poor management in a hospital in the country’s north for the outbreak.

Conte insisted, however, that Italy’s health protocols were “among the most rigorous”.

At least 11 towns in Lombardy and Veneto remain under lockdown, while all cultural and sporting events in northern Italy have been cancelled or postponed in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading further.