According to local media, an Italian medical student was allegedly strangled to death by her boyfriend after he wrongly accused her of giving him coronavirus. Lorena Quaranta, of Sicily, died earlier this week in Messina, officials said. The mayor of Favara, her hometown, said she heard “the tragic news about the untimely death of our citizen Lorena” on Tuesday. Her boyfriend, Antonio De Pace, reportedly told police he had killed her because he thought she had given him coronavirus, according to Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera. Both tests reportedly came back negative. According to an Italian news agency, Ms. Quaranta has been strangled at their shared home in Messina in northeastern Sicily. Mr. De Pace called the police into the scene and attempted suicide to take his life, ANSA reported. Messina University, where the victim was a medical student, said it hoped to posthumously have Ms. Quaranta graduate. In a post on the death of the young woman, Messina’s mayor said the national shutdown was an especially challenging time for domestic violence victims and highlighted the community resources available.
218
People in Italy have been ordered to remain at home as authorities are working to counter the outbreak of coronavirus unless it is deemed necessary to leave the house, for example, to get food or medication. The lockout – which is expected to end this week – will now continue until at least April 13, the prime minister said. Italy has been one of the world’s hardest hit by coronavirus, with more than 110,000 confirmed infections and a death toll of about 13,000, official figures say.