"We have allocated an extraordinary sum of 25 billion euros, not to be used immediately but to be available for use to face all the difficulties of this emergency," Conte said after a meeting with the Council of Ministers.
Conte also stated that the Italian government was ready to review a request by the authorities of the country's northern regions, including virus-hit Lombardy, to tighten quarantine measures amid the outbreak.
Italian Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri added that on Friday Italy would adopt a decree on economic measures amid the coronavirus emergency that would be worth around 12 billion euros.
On Tuesday, Italian Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli said in an interview with Radio Capital that the government was preparing a package of economic measures to support families and businesses amid the coronavirus crisis. The package would suspend payments of utility bills, taxes and mortgages, according to the minister.
On a global scale, there are almost 120,000 confirmed cases, with nearly 81,000 in mainland China, followed by Italy with 10,149 and Iran with 8,042. The total number of global deaths reached 4,284 as of Wednesday, and over 65,000 recoveries have been reported.
