Last updated: 28 February, 6:00 pm. Our live blog closes here, but we will continue to keep you updated on the most important news.

Coronavirus, the week's latest news summarised and updated in real time

• Deaths caused by coronavirus worldwide number more than 2,700, with the majority of fatalities occurring in China. Confirmed cases exceed 80,400, while recoveries have surpassed 30,000;
• Italy is the worst-affected country outside the Asian continent and the third in the world after China and South Korea (with over 1,500 cases), although the situation in Iran, which is currently very unclear, needs to be better understood. Confirmed cases in our country stand at 650, with 45 people recovered and 17 deaths. There are also reportedly the first cases of infection in children;
• according to the World Health Organisation, it is too early to declare the new coronavirus a pandemic, but "the time has come to prepare".
• After 29 days of hospitalisation, the two Chinese tourists admitted to the Spallanzani hospital in Rome tested negative and have both been transferred from intensive care to a standard ward.
• The Italian strain of coronavirus has been isolated at the Sacco hospital in Milan.

Ministero della Salute @MinisteroSalute

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Aiutiamoci l'un con l'altro. #Rai, @Palazzo_Chigi e Ministero della Salute insieme per sensibilizzare alle buone pratiche quotidiane utili contro il contagio da nuovo #coronavirus. Da questa sera, sulle reti Rai, lo spot con #Amadeus ⤵️

#covid19italia #coronavirusitalia

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The situation in Italy according to the latest Civil Protection bulletin

As of 6:00 pm on Thursday 27 February, 650 people across twelve regions have been confirmed as infected. In particular, the confirmed coronavirus cases are:

• Lombardy: 403;
• Veneto: 111;
• Emilia-Romagna: 97;
• Liguria: 19;
• Sicily: 4;
• Lazio: 3;
• Marche: 3;
• Campania: 3;
• Tuscany: 2;
• Piedmont: 2;
• Trentino-Alto Adige: 1;
• Abruzzo: 1;
• Puglia: 1.

Patients hospitalised with symptoms number 248, 56 are in intensive care, while 284 are in home isolation. 45 people have recovered.

Ministero della Salute @MinisteroSalute

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📞Nuovo aggiornamento dei numeri di telefono verdi attivati dalle regioni per fronteggiare l'emergenza #coronavirus. Ricorda di chiamare solo se sospetti di aver contratto il virus. Per altre informazioni visita salute.gov.it/nuovocoronavir…
#covid19italia #coronavirusitalia

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The coronavirus mural by artist Tvboy

"L'amore ai tempi del Co…vid-19" is the title of the new work by street artist Tvboy. Unveiled in an Instagram post, the mural is a reinterpretation of the famous Hayez Kiss. Only this time the two lovers are protecting themselves with face masks and holding bottles of hand sanitiser. Among the hashtags accompanying the photo is "Milano non si ferma" — the same phrase chosen by Milan's mayor Beppe Sala to show support for the city during these days. The exact location of the work, however, remains unknown.

Milan doesn't stop

The Milan mayor Beppe Sala's spot went viral within a few hours. "Milan, millions of inhabitants. We perform miracles every day. We keep up unimaginable rhythms every day. We bring home important results every day because every day we are not afraid. Milan doesn't stop." These are the words that appear in the video published on his social media pages. The spot ends by citing a series of cities including Codogno, with the final line "Italy doesn't stop" followed by the hashtag #Milanononsiferma.

How to travel in the age of coronavirus

Although viruses have no borders — as recalled by Emanuele Capobianco of the Red Cross —, the list of governments trying to prevent people from areas where outbreaks of the new coronavirus are present from entering their countries is very long. Equally long is the list of leaders who have advised their citizens not to travel to the most at-risk areas. Since Italy ranks third in the world for the number of infections, anyone planning to travel in the coming days should certainly stay up to date. For this reason, we have produced an in-depth piece on the measures taken by each country, to keep you as well informed as possible:

How to travel in the age of coronavirus

What was said at the Thursday 27 February press conference with Lombardy Region

Those present at the press conference at Palazzo Lombardia at 5:00 pm were: Luigi Cajazzo, Director General of Welfare for Lombardy; Giulio Gallera, Welfare Councillor; Fabrizio Sala, Vice-President of the Lombardy Region; Davide Caparini, Budget Councillor; and Alessandro Mattinzoli, Economic Development Councillor. According to Gallera, the situation in Lombardy "is beginning to take shape. The figures are starting to give us a clearer picture of how the virus is developing. 37 people have been discharged because they are in good health. We have decided to carry out swabs only on those who show symptoms attributable to coronavirus — that is, fever and breathing difficulties — and their close contacts. We will no longer take asymptomatic cases into consideration." The councillor then provided some data: "On the 24th [of February] we had 126 Lombardy residents hospitalised. On the 25th there were 44. Today the number of people hospitalised is 39. So the figures are in constant decline." An encouraging sign, though one that will need to be confirmed in the coming days.

What was said at the Thursday 27 February press conference with ministers Di Maio and Speranza

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Health Minister Roberto Speranza held a conference with the Foreign Press in Rome to take stock of the coronavirus epidemic. Also present were Giuseppe Ippolito, Scientific Director of the Spallanzani, and Director Marta Branca.

"We are here today to share some good news with you: all the patients at the Spallanzani have recovered," said Di Maio. "A great deal of incorrect information is circulating that is damaging the reputation of our scientific community, which is, on the contrary, handling this situation brilliantly. The only thing I can say is to stick to the official Civil Protection bulletins that are issued every day. In Italy, only 0.089 per cent of municipalities are affected, with two contained outbreaks in the Lodi area and in Veneto. We are talking about 40,000–50,000 citizens involved out of 60 million Italians spread across 301,000 square kilometres. We have moved from an epidemic risk to a real infodemic [an excess of information, including false information, ed.] that is hitting the tourism sector, businesses and the economy."

Farnesina 🇮🇹 @ItalyMFA

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#Coronavirus | La risposta del Governo italiano all'emergenza da #COVIDー19 è stata tempestiva. Massimo impegno della #Farnesina nel contrastare la diffusione all'estero di notizie inaccurate sulla situazione sanitaria in Italia.

🔗esteri.it/mae/it/sala_st…

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Minister Speranza, for his part, said he was proud of the national health service: "our message is simple: we chose the path of transparency and today we are the country with the highest number of checks. We have isolated the positive cases and traced their contacts." Finally, the Spallanzani's Scientific Director, Giuseppe Ippolito, urged the public "not to rush out and buy masks," as they are in fact unnecessary if one has not been infected. The day before, he had noted that "to date, the deaths in Italy involve people who died with coronavirus and not from coronavirus — we cannot forget the victims' prior medical histories, which were aggravated by the virus."

Luigi Di Maio @luigidimaio

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Con il ministro della Salute @robersperanza, il direttore scientifico dello #Spallanzani Giuseppe Ippolito e la direttrice Marta Branca illustriamo alla @Stampa_Estera i dati reali del Paese circa il #coronavirus. Priorità: difendere la nostra economia. ➡️ facebook.com/LuigiDiMaio/vi…

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The first four cases of infection in minors in Italy

The first four cases of infection in children have occurred in Lombardy. They involve a 4-year-old girl, two 10-year-old children and a 15-year-old. In all cases the infection is mild, as confirmed by Lombardy's Regional President Attilio Fontana.

Read also: Coronavirus, immunologist Attilio Speciani's advice on how to avoid panic

One of Fontana's staff members tested positive. He goes into preventive self-isolation

A member of staff working for Lombardy governor Attilio Fontana has tested positive for coronavirus, and he has decided to go into self-isolation. "From today something will change, because I too will follow the instructions issued by the Istituto superiore della sanità, and so