Kane Dane
Italy has confirmed nearly 1,000 deaths of the coronavirus Friday, the worst of a day since the pandemic began, as experts have said that the nation’s outbreak could be nearing its peak.
The country’s confirmed cases, five weeks after the virus had become established in Italy, grew to almost 86,500 – more than the U.S. or China – where the flu-like illness originated in December.
The Civil Protection Agency said that the number of deaths rose to 969, but this included 50 people who had been missing in previous days’ counts.
However, the rate of infection continued to decrease, with nearly 86,500 cases registered by the Civil Protection Agency in Italy – a 7.4% rise from around 8.0 percent in previous days.
Previous Deaths
The 969 deaths over the last 24 hours were 712 on Thursday, 683, on Wednesday, 743, on Tuesday and 602 on Monday.
The total number of confirmed cases rose to 86,498, compared with 80,539, Italy’s total exceeding that of China, where at the end of last year, the coronavirus outbreak occurred.
For those initially infected in Italy, 10,950 were recovered entirely on Friday, compared to 10,361 the day before. The previous 3,612 were intensively cared for by 3,732 men.
The hit northern part of Lombardy recorded a sharp increase in deaths compared with the previous day, remaining in a precarious situation with a total of 5,402 deaths and 37,298 cases.
It was up to Thursday as compared to 4,861 deaths and 34,889 cases.
Extreme Caution
Nevertheless, virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco cautioned that this would not lead to easier lockouts. The small slowing in case the numbers “will increase our determination to proceed.
And Brusaferro said that lifting strict action with extreme caution is appropriate.
Italy Lockdown
The lockdown of Italy came into force nationwide on March 9 and applied strict measures to northern regions, where the outbreak began, earlier.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced last week that the closure and restriction steps taken at schools, bars, and restaurants would continue past the original end of April 3, but not until when.
Saturation Point
In the hit north of Italy, regional officials warned that their hospitals were already under tremendous pressure.
“Despite double bed numbers, we reached a saturation point in intensive therapy,” said Alberto Cirio, head of the region of Piedmont.
“If this rate does not fall, we risk not being able to do so,” he said, asking for extra ventilators as a matter of urgency.
Infected Healthcare Employees
Domenico Arcuri, the National Commissioner for Emergencies, said the military helicopters would be used to speed up the delivery of medical and health supplies in emergencies.
The number of physicians murdered by the virus increased to 44 on Friday, with almost 6,500 infected healthcare employees, ISS said.
Dr. Annamaria Focarete, 70, was the latest survivor. A tearful colleague told Adn Kronos that “she seemed to have overcome it with her fighting spirit. A superinfection got her.”
Source: NDTV
