Rome - By midday Thursday the death toll from Monday's earthquake in central Italy stood at 279 and with hopes of finding more survivors fading, officials began turning their attention on assisting thousands left homeless.

In Rome, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet discussed plans for a temporary suspension of bills, home-loan installments and other expenses for the inhabitants of the badly damaged city of L'Aquila and other nearby towns.

Possible measures include 70 million euros (92 million dollars) in aid to Italy's civil protection services which have been leading rescue and evacuation efforts, as well operating emergency tent shelters.

Some 30,000 people are in need of help, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said Thursday morning during a visit to L'Aquila.

The city, along with other parts of the Abruzzo region, has continued to be rocked by aftershocks since Monday's main tremor which registered 6.2 on the Richter scale.

Napolitano, whose role as head of state is largely ceremonial but highly respected, praised the "brave" efforts of rescuers and the "swift" response shown by the local and national government to the disaster.

However, "no one must shut their eyes" to the sight of relatively modern buildings destroyed by the earthquake, Napolitano said.

Irrespective of political party affiliations, "those with responsibility need to examine their consciences," Napolitano said.

His remarks echo widespread suspicions on whether building regulations have been respected in the Abruzzo, a region which lies in a seismic area prone to earthquakes.

Among the dead pulled from rubble overnight, was a 20-year-old student trapped when modern university dormitory building that collapsed in L'Aquila.

The body of the student, who was also the father of a 7-month-old baby girl, was taken to a police training school barracks situated in the city which is serving as an impromptu morgue.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's second highest official, is set to preside over a state funeral set for Good Friday at the barracks.

Pope Benedict XVI, who on Thursday began leading Holy Week ceremonies in Rome, has said he plans to visit the earthquake area "as soon as possible."

Efforts to find survivors will continue through Sunday.

Rescuers, often with just their bare hands, are continuing to sift through smashed masonry and other debris in the hilly terrain on which l'Aquila and some of the other badly damaged towns were built.

With many homes left abandoned the government said it was stepping up police and military patrols in the damaged areas to prevent looting.

Some 17,000 people spent Wednesday night housed in several tent camps set up by authorities as shelters mainly for residents of the worst hit areas including L'Aquila's city centre and the towns of Onna and Paganica.

The government says that reconstruction costs will rise to 1.2 billion euros (1.6 billion dollars) and entire towns will have to be rebuilt.

Monday's earthquake was the deadliest to hit Italy in almost 30 years.

In 1980 up to 3,000 people are estimated to have died in an earthquake in the southern Campania and Basilicata regions.