Italy's worst one day virus toll of 475 dead
Insider reporters
|
18 March 2020
Soldiers deployed in Bergamo
ROME -- As many as 475 people died from Coronavirus in Italy over the 24 hours to Wednesday in the biggest daily jump in the death toll so far, civil defence officials said, leading authorities to consider a total ban on outside activity. The Italian army was drafted in to the virus-infested city of Bergamo to transport 60 coffins of victims to other cities for cremation as local crematoria were overwhelmed, the defence ministry said.
The rise in the toll took the total number of deaths to just under 3,000 and total cases of the virus were some 36,000 on the peninsula.
One thousand more people were pronounced cured of the virus in the past 24 hours taking the total cured to 3,000 but the national government is contemplating introducing more stringent measures after media showed photos of passengers crowded together in the Milan metro due to train cancellations while in many cities police said they are virtually powerless to prevent people flouting the lockdown by walking dogs, jogging and claiming they were shopping for food.
jp