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BRUSSELS/MADRID, March 14-- COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, continued to spread across Europe on Saturday with a spike in new cases, prompting European governments to roll out more strong measures to combat the pandemic. On Saturday evening, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a 15-day partial lockdown for Spain, with immediate effect, in a bid to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Altogether, there are more than 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in 42 European countries. Of them, seven nations reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases -- Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Britain and Norway. SPIKE IN NEW CASES In Italy, the number of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus reached 17,750, according to the latest update provided by the Civil Protection Department which is coordinating the national emergency response. That marked an increase of 2,795 cases over that of the previous day. The death toll also grew by 175 on a daily basis to 1,441. Considering all data including deaths and recoveries, the total number of assessed coronavirus cases in Italy was 21,157, the largest number for a single country outside China. Among the 17,750 people positive for COVID-19, some 1,518 were currently in intensive care (190 new cases), while 8,372 were hospitalized with symptoms, and 7,860 under home confinement as they were asymptomatic or with light symptoms. | 
