US coronavirus cases have doubled in 3 days, Italy still under lockdown

• The novel coronavirus has infected more than 115,800 people — including at least 1,000 in the US — and killed over 4,200 worldwide

• All 60 million residents in Italy are are facing travel checks, school closures and bans on public events.

There are now 1,000 coronavirus cases in the United States

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has reached 1,000, according to a CNN tally. The number of patients identified has doubled since Sunday. Thirty-one people have died.

Washington state remains the hardest-hit, with 273 patients and 24 fatalities. California and New York are the only other states with more than 100 cases, while Massachusetts is getting closer with 92.

You should know: While the numbers are noteworthy, they do not come as a complete surprise. Viral outbreaks often increase exponentially – not linearly or logarithmically – if there is no immunization or cure because one patient can infect several others. That is why public health officials are stressing the importance of contact tracing in stopping the coronavirus’ spread.

Italy is still under lockdown

Police officers and soldiers check passengers leaving from Milan main train station, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2020. Italy took a page from China’s playbook Sunday, attempting to lock down 16 million people — more than a quarter of its population — for nearly a month to halt the relentless march of the new coronavirus across Europe. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte signed a quarantine decree early Sunday for the country’s prosperous north. Areas under lockdown include Milan, Italy’s financial hub and the main city in Lombardy, and Venice, the main city in the neighboring Veneto region. (AP Photo/Antoio Calanni)

Italy has been put under a dramatic total lockdown, as the coronavirus spreads in the country. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that he is extending restrictions already in place in the north.

“All the measure of the red zones are now extended to all of the national territory,” Conte said at a press conference on Monday evening as he also announced a ban on all public events.

The Prime Minister said the move was taken in order to protect the population, and especially the most fragile individuals. His announcement came at the end of a chaotic day that saw prison riots across the country.

Ninety-seven people have died of the novel coronavirus since Sunday in Italy, bringing its total number of deaths to 463. The country has 9,172 cases so far, the most of any European country.

Over the weekend, blanket travel restrictions were announced in just certain areas. The rest of the country will now join the northern provinces under lockdown — one of the toughest responses implemented outside of mainland China to get the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

The coordinator for intensive care in the crisis unit for the northern Lombardy region told CNN that Lombardy’s health care system was “one step from collapse” despite efforts to free up hospital beds.

“We are now being forced to set up intensive care treatment in corridors,” Antonio Pesenti said. “We’ve emptied entire hospital sections to make space for seriously sick people.”

He described seeing “a tsunami of patients,” adding that there could be 18,000 patients in hospital by the end of the month if the virus continues to spread.

Reporting By Joshua Berlinger, Jessie Yeung and Adam Renton, CNN