Italy has hit its highest daily coronavirus death toll yet, as 627 people have died in the last 24 hours alone, causing the nation’s overall death toll to exceed 4,000 as of Friday.
Newly released data from Italy’s Civil Protection reveals that the country’s death toll has jumped from 3,405 deaths on Thursday to 4,032 on Friday, as well as from 41,035 confirmed cases on Thursday to 47,021 on Friday.
In the last 24 hours alone, an additional 627 people in Italy have died due to the virus that originated in Wuhan, China, shattering the nation’s previously held record — 475 — for the highest daily death toll.
On Thursday, Italy’s coronavirus death toll of 3,405 had made it the country with the highest recorded amount of coronavirus deaths in the world, surpassing China’s officially reported death toll, as the Chinese communist government has claimed a total of 3,245 deaths.
“It doesn’t stop,” reports La Repubblica. “There is no break and the peak still seems far away. The number of coronavirus cases in our country continues to rise.”
As Italy’s coronavirus death toll surges, the governor of Lombardy — the nation’s worst-infected region — is warning citizens that if they do not stay home, the Italian government will get more aggressive, as hospitals will soon be “no longer able to help” new coronavirus patients.
But some argue that it’s too late, such as the mayor of Bergamo — a city in Lombardy — who says that Italy’s coronavirus crisis has already led to the rationing of health services in hospitals, as well as patients who have been “left to die” by healthcare workers so overwhelmed, that they have been forced to prioritize younger, healthier patients who are more likely to survive the Chinese virus.
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