Italy's coronavirus death toll rose by 662 on Thursday, hitting 8,165; while number of cases surpassed 80,500, an official said.

The country reported 6,153 new cases in last 24 hours, its biggest rise in last five days.

After more than two weeks of a nationwide lockdown, the Italian government decided to expand the mandatory closure of nonessential commercial activities to heavy industry in the eurozone's third-largest economy, a major exporter of machinery, textiles and other goods.

Italy has also become the first western developed nation to idle most of its industry to halt the spread of the coronavirus, a potential cautionary tale for other governments, such as the Trump administration, that are resisting such drastic measures.