ROME, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy have increased to 888, including 21 fatalities and 46 recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health on Friday.

The majority of the infections, or 531, were recorded in the northern Lombardy region, followed by the northern Veneto region (151 cases), Emilia-Romagna (145), Liguria (19), Piedmont (11), Tuscany (8), Marche (6), Sicily (4), Campania (4), Lazio (3), Puglia (3), Abruzzo (1), Calabria (1) and the autonomous province of Bolzano (1), the Ministry of Health reported.

Civil Protection Department chief Angelo Borrelli, who also serves as Extraordinary Commissioner for the Coronavirus Emergency, told a press conference at 6 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Friday that three more deaths were reported in a day.

"Three individuals died today," said Borrelli, describing them as two people aged over 80 and one person aged over 70.

Currently, 412 people are under house quarantine because they are asymptomatic or present very light symptoms, 345 are hospitalized, and 64 are in intensive care, Borrelli said.

The overall numbers are up from 633 cases of infection (including 45 recoveries) and 17 fatalities communicated by officials at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Asked about the spike in cases, Superior Institute of Health (ISS) President Silvio Brusaferro, who was also present at the press conference, said that "the scenario is one that hasn't yet been affected by the measures adopted."

It takes up to 14 days for symptoms to develop after a person first catches the virus, explained Brusaferro.

"We are measuring a phenomenon that is still evolving, and in the coming days we will assess the impact of the measures that have been adopted," the doctor said.

Officials first confirmed the coronavirus outbreak on Feb. 21, when six cases of infection emerged in the small town of Codogno in Lombardy.

In response to the outbreak, the government put Codogno and another nine nearby towns under lockdown in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

During that time, another hotbed of coronavirus flared up in the nearby Veneto region.

Also on Friday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella called on citizens not to give in to irrational fears based on fake news.

Speaking ahead of Rare Disease Day, which falls on Feb. 29, Mattarella said that "we have witnessed irrational behavior, the spread of anti-scientific theories ... and the spread of anxieties that transformed into self-harming behaviors."

"Today, as we face the emergence of an insidious new virus, we can better appreciate the value of science, (which is) a strong antidote to irrational and unmotivated fears that lead to behaviors that are without reason or benefit, as sometimes happen even now," Mattarella said. Enditem

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