(Photo: AFP)

Rome (People's Daily) -- Cases of the new coronavirus in Italy, the worst affected country in Europe, rose to more than 60 on Saturday with two deaths now attributed to the virus.

Two people have died in northern Italy after becoming infected with coronavirus as an outbreak in the Lombardy and Veneto regions worsened.

Authorities in those two northern regions, where the outbreak is concentrated, have shut down schools and banned public events, and residents are being encouraged to stay at home.