A total of six people have now caught the coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy, its health councillor Giulio Gallera told reporters on Friday.
"All the patients all have acute pneumonia and are men and women aged around 40, Gallera said.
Earlier on Friday, three people were confirmed to have the potentially deadly virus - a 38-year-old man who had dinner in the town of Codogno with a friend who had recently returned from China, the 38-year-old's wife and one of his gymn partners.
The 38-year-old is in a critical condition in intensive care at Codogno's hospital, Gallera said.
"His condition makes it difficult to move him," Gallera said.
The man's wife, who is eight months pregnant, is being treated at Milan's Sacco hospital, said Gallera.
Gallera did not state the whereabouts of the other four people who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The three towns in the province of Lodi where six coronavirus patients are from - Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda and Casalpusterlengo - have been put on lockdown with schools and businesses closed and residents ordered to stay at home.
Earlier, premier Giuseppe Conte sought to allay fears among citizens over the coronavirus global health emergency, telling them Italy had adopted all possible measures to combat the spread of the virus.
"The cabinet has adopted a policy of maximum prudence and precaution. This removes any basis for alarmism or panic," Conte told reporters.
Italy's government last month declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus, halted commercial flights to and from China and said it was earmarking an initial five million euros to tackle the virus.
An Italian repatriated in early February from the Chinese city of Wuhan - the epicentre of the current coronavirus outbreak - tested positive for the virus and is still receiving treatment at Rome's Spallanzani hospital along with two Chinese tourists who also caught the virus.
The coronavirus has killed at least 2,236 people and infected over 75,000 since mid-December. The virus has also spread around the world with more than 1,000 cases and several deaths in the rest of Asia, in Europe, the US and Africa.
