Coronavirus: Italy Death Toll Surpasses China’s Official Count

A patient in a biocontainment unit is carried from an ambulance arrived at the Columbus Co
AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

An additional 427 people have died in Italy in the last 24 hours alone, bringing the nation’s overall coronavirus death toll to 3,405 as of Thursday — surpassing China’s official death toll, as reported by the Chinese communist government.

Newly released data from Italy’s Civil Protection reveals that the country’s death toll has jumped from 2,978 deaths on Wednesday to 3,405 on Thursday, as well as from 35,713 confirmed cases on Wednesday to 41,035 on Thursday.

Thursday’s new data now makes Italy the country with the highest recorded amount of coronavirus deaths in the world, as the Chinese Communist Party has claimed that a total of 3,245 people have died from the coronavirus in China.

Lombardy Region Welfare Councilor Giulio Gallera noted that “almost two weeks have passed” since the entire nation was put on lockdown, reports La Repubblica.

“We thought it was enough, instead, the goal is a few kilometers further,” said Gallera. “We have to grit our teeth, but we will make it. It is necessary that everyone has a responsible attitude.”

“Stay away from your spouse too, even from your family members,” he added.

Meanwhile, the governor of Lombardy — Italy’s worst-infected region — is warning citizens that if they do not stay home, the government will get more aggressive, because soon hospitals will “no longer able to help” new coronavirus patients.

But the mayor of Bergamo — a city in Lombardy — argues that the coronavirus crisis has already led to the rationing of health services in Italian hospitals, as well as patients who are “left to die” by healthcare workers who are so overwhelmed with Wuhan virus victims, that they have been forced to prioritize younger, healthier patients who are more likely to survive.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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