The cemetery in the village of Vertova near Bergamo, Lombardy where 36 people died of coronavirus in 23 days
ROME, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italy reported a sharp rise in its coronavirus death toll Tuesday, with 743 more victims, breaking a two-day trend that had fuelled hopes the epidemic may be on the wane.
The daily toll was the second highest recorded in Italy since the crisis began, but the Civil Protection Agency said that while the number of new cases was up on Monday’s figure, the infection rate was slowing.
Some 602 deaths were recorded on Monday, far lower than the world record 793 deaths last Saturday.
Italy has seen more fatalities than any other country, with the latest figures showing that 6,820 people have died from the infection in barely a month.
The total number of confirmed cases hit 69,176 on Tuesday, but with Italy testing only people with severe symptoms, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said the true number of infected people was probably 10 times higher.
“A ratio of one certified case out of every 10 is credible,” Angelo Borrelli told La Repubblica newspaper, indicating he believed some 700,000 people could have been infected.
However, there was reassuring evidence that Italy’s coronavirus infection rate was slowing.
Officially registered new infections rose just 8 percent – the same as Monday, and the lowest level since Italy registered its first death on Feb 21.
It had been running at as high as 50 percent at the start of March.
Borrelli said more data over the next few days would help show “if the growth curve is really flattening.”
Still, the latest data comes as a disappointment to a country that has been in lockdown for two weeks, with schools, bars and restaurants shut and Italians forbidden from leaving their homes for all but essential needs.
On Monday, the government closed all businesses not deemed to be essential to the nation’s supply chain of vital requirements.
After the latest figures, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte stiffened fines for people leaving their homes to up to 3,000 euros, from a previous maximum of 206 euros.
“Every one of us must play our part,” he told reporters at a news conference held by remote video link.
“If everyone obeys the rules, they don’t only protect themselves and their loved ones, but they will enable the whole national community to come out of this emergency.”
Meanwhile, the global health emergency continues to raise fears across the rest of Europe and the United States.
Scientists believe that countries such as Spain and France are following in Italy’s footsteps with a lag of a few weeks.
Deaths in Spain on Tuesday surged by 514 in one day, the most since the outbreak, bringing its total toll to 2,696. It also reported 6,600 new coronavirus cases, raising nationwide infections to 39,673. — NNN-AGENCIES
