[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n 27th of March, 2020 Italy recorded 919 coronavirus deaths. In total 9,134 have died from the pandemic in Italy. The country is the worst affected in Europe with the northern region of Lombardy being the hardest hit by coronavirus. The Lombardy region includes Italy’s financial capital, Milan.
In the past few weeks there has been a sharp increase in deaths and the number of deaths in the Lombardy region has been staggering. The president of the Campania region around Naples has said that the central government is yet to provide life-saving equipment and ventilators as promised. 46 doctors have died since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Italy has been observing a lockdown which has helped to reduce the rate of new infections but progress has been slow. The pandemic and the lockdown has severely affected the economy and consequently the Prime Minister has promised a second stimulus package for Italy of at least 25 billion Euros.
Government authorities have warned that the lockdown and other restrictions are likely to be extended beyond April 3. As far back as January 31, 2020 the Italian government suspended all flights to and from China and declared a state of emergency as more and more cases of Covid-19 were reported starting with Chinese tourists in Rome testing positive for coronavirus. By the beginning of March 2020, coronavirus had spread to all regions of Italy.
On March 21, the Government of Italy closed all non-essential industries and businesses. Other parts of Europe such as Spain have also been hard hit by the pandemic. The Nigerian authorities have raised an alarm that the country may end up with thousands of cases as Covid-19 spreads.
Hattip to BBC
