Italy reports 475 deaths in one day, over 8,000 dead globally

 

• 83,000 people recover from attack

 

The death toll from the outbreak of coronavirus in Italy surged in one day by 475 to 2,978, an increase of 19 percent. It was the biggest jump in numerical terms since the contagion came to light last month.

The total number of cases in Italy, the European country hardest hit by the virus, rose to 35,713 from a previous 31,506, up 13.35 percent, the Civil Protection Agency said.

Of those originally infected, 4,025 had fully recovered compared to 2,941 the day before. Some 2,257 people were in intensive care against a previous 2,060.

Hard-hit Italy reported an additional 475 deaths from the virus on Wednesday, and France imposed a draconian lockdown unseen during peacetime. In the United States, the virus has now spread to all 50 states.

READ: Coronavirus: Italian came into Nigeria on Turkish Airlines

The coronavirus has now infected more than 200,000 people and killed more than 8,000 globally, with over 83,000 people having recovered from the infection, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for more “aggressive” action to curb coronavirus in Southeast Asia after the European Union, now at the epicentre of the pandemic, moved to seal off its borders.