Friday, Italy recorded the worst day since the outbreak of the naval coronavirus epidemic in the country with 969 new deaths.
On a day in which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first major world leader to test positive, Spain also recorded its worst day of the pandemic with 769 deaths to bring the total to 4,934.
Italy’s confirmed cases of 86,498 surpassed China, where it’s believed the outbreak began. The European country of 60 million is currently behind the United States’ 97,028, which surged past both on Thursday to become the country with the most confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
Italians have been on lockdown since March 6. Its worst-hit area is its most populous, the Lombardy region, accounting for 59% of the fatalities nationwide.
Hospitals are expectedly packed and running short on supplies. A doctor died last Friday after having to work without protective gloves, according to Forbes.
The coronavirus pandemic has so far infected 585,040 worldwide and 26,819 deaths.
Deaths by country for March 27th. US is slated to catch up with Italy within a week. So will France. (again, count is better than per capita rate as discussed before, see wall for details). #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/2SGtBOA0mk
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 28, 2020