COVID-19: Italy’s Death Hits 4,000
The death toll in Italy over the coronavirus pandemic has hit 4000.
This is coming with a record 627 new deaths despite government efforts to stem the pandemic’s spread.
This has now surpassed the death rate reported by China at the peak of its outbreak around Wuhan’s Hubei province with Italy’s previous one-day record death toll being 475 as of Wednesday.
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The Mediterranean country has seen more than 1,500 fatalities from the virus in the past three days alone and it has now recorded the five highest one-day tolls officially registered around the world.
With the total number of deaths now 4,032, infections have risen by nearly 6,000 to 47,021, making it accounts for 36.6 percent of the world’s coronavirus deaths.
“There are so many people walking around who have the virus and who are at risk of infecting others,” Matteo Bassetti, the director of the infectious diseases department at Genoa’s San Martino clinic, told Italy’s AGI news agency.
“The 40,000 cases we are talking about could actually be 100 times higher.”
The nation of 60 million currently is, therefore, planning to extend a ban on public gatherings and the shutdown of almost all businesses past their March 25 deadline.
Regional leaders and city mayors have been urging the Italian government to adopt even tougher restrictions such as a ban on outdoor exercises and the closure of all stores on Sundays.
