Fines for breaking lockdown rules go to as much as €3,000 as Italy records its second deadliest coronavirus day with 743 new fatalities. At he same time the number of new COVID-19 cases has dropped amid efforts to impose strict lockdown rules in the worst hit areas.

The number of fatalities in Italy dropped for the second consecutive day, official data suggests. COVID-19 attributed deaths had risen by 602 on Monday compared to 651 on Sunday and 793 on Saturday. The figures for coronavirus related cases are following a similar pattern, according to Italy's Civil Protection Agency.

Governors across Italy are making televised pleas or even threats to quarantine rule breakers in an effort to slow CONVID-19 deadly spread. “I’m the Mayor and you are not allowed to walk in my town”, President of the southern Italian region Vincenzo De Luca is quoted as saying.

Russia has sent several mobile teams of specialists in virology and epidemics to help Italian medics battle the COVID-19 outbreak. The eight military brigades are said to be equipped with mobile disinfection vehicles.

Italy's death toll reaches 627 on March 20th, news agencies report. The country remains the worst Covid-19 stricken despite desperate efforts to contain the virus. The town of Bergamo in the northern region of Lombardy is named the world's most affected area.