A total of 1,384 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Italy over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

The number of people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the epidemic hit Italy reached 17,750 as of Saturday, the Italian authorities said.

The coronavirus epidemic continued to claim lives in locked-down Italy on Friday, according to new data released by the Civil Protection Department.

Measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus will be extended to the entire country in the next hours, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced late on Monday.

A total of 3,916 people were tested positive for the coronavirus in Italy since the epidemic first broke out here 15 days ago, the Civil Protection Department said Friday.