国际英语资讯:Italy reports 222 confirmed cases of COVID-19, six deaths_时事

国际英语资讯:Italy reports 222 confirmed cases of COVID-19, six deaths

Also on Monday, the Ministry of Health tweeted that Dr. Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), has "decided to send a team of ECDC experts to Italy to support the Ministry of Health in their efforts to limit the local transmission of COVID-19."

Meanwhile, Italy's tourism association Federturismo Confindustria said in a statement on Monday that it had sent a letter to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte asking for a state of emergency to be declared for the tourism sector, which it said "represents 10 percent of (national gross domestic product) GDP and employs over four million workers."

"The latest grave news about the spread of coronavirus in our country have brought the Italian tourism industry to its knees," the statement noted.

"Cautious estimates saw losses of five billion euros (5.4 billion U.S. dollars) but now we can no longer estimate the impact," commented Federturismo Confindustria Vice President Marina Lalli.

"The season is compromised" due to "thousands of cancelations" and "missed bookings for the entire second semester of 2020," the statement added.

The FTSE MIB -- the benchmark stock market index for the Borsa Italiana -- plunged by minus 5.43 percent at the close on Monday on coronavirus fears, with the travel and entertainment index posting the biggest loss at minus 12.03 percent, the Italian Stock Exchange reported on its website.