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The number of coronavirus patients to have died in Italy reached 10 on Tuesday after regional authorities in Lombardy confirmed three more fatalities, The Local reported.

On Tuesday evening local officials and media sites in Italy reported three more deaths from coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy.

It brought the death toll from the recent outbreak of the virus to 10. All 10 deaths have occurred since Friday when the number of infections began to surge.

Angelo Borelli, the chief of the regional Civil Protection agency has said that the three people who died on Tuesday were all elderly.

Their ages have been given as 83, 84 and 91 years old.

Authorities say the number of virus cases in the country has risen to 322.

Tuscany reported its first two cases, including one in the tourist destination of Florence, while Sicily recorded one: a tourist from the worst-hit Lombardy region.

Italy and its neighbours have decided not to close their borders over the coronavirus, saying it would be a disproportionate and ineffective measure, their health ministers said Tuesday.