ROME, 29 March 2020:
Italy yesterday reported 889 new deaths from coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 10,023, the highest in the world.
The latest figures provided by the Italian Civil Protection Department, however, showed both the daily death rate and the increase in contagion cases grew a bit slower than Friday.
The epicentre of the outbreak in the country remains the northern Lombardy region, which counts 5,944 victims alone.
Italian experts said on Friday that the country had not reached the peak of contagions yet, but added that since March 19-20 the curve had shown a slowdown.
Italy’s interior minister Luciana Lamorgese said yesterday it had seemed “unrealistic” the almost total lockdown imposed on Italian citizens would end, as planned, on April 3.
In a televised news conference yesterday evening, prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced the government will provide local administrations with up to €4.3 billion from an existing solidarity fund, to help them meet the needs of the struggling citizens.
In Spain, all non-essential workers must stay home for the next two weeks, prime minister Pedro Sanchez announced yesterday, as the government extends measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus throughout the country.
At a Cabinet meeting today, the government will approve the “exceptional” measures ahead of the Easter celebrations, known in Spain as Holy Week, that start on April 5. The new restrictions will be in place until at least April 9.
“We are doing this now because we’re about to enter the Easter holidays, so we can more aggressively cut down on social contacts and, therefore, hospital admissions and the pressure on Intensive Care Units,” Pedro Sanchez told a press conference.
The new restrictions were announced after authorities confirmed the deaths of 832 coronavirus patients in the previous 24 hours, a record daily death toll in the country.
Although the rate of new infections was slowing, a peak in ICU patients would not arrive until late next week.
Already the second deadliest global hotspot after Italy, Spain’s health ministry said the total number of deaths now stood at 5,960. Some 769 Covid-19 patients died between Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, a total of 139 people in Iran have died due to Covid-19 over the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll up to 2,517, health officials announced yesterday.
Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour said 3,076 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 35,408.
Also, 546 people have recovered from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 11,679, said Jahanpour. He added that over 3,200 patients were in critical condition.
Also, a woman in her 70s was confirmed the first death case of Covid-19 in New Zealand, the New Zealand government as announcing this afternoon.
NZ Health director-general Dr Ashley Bloomfield gave the update on daily press conference. The woman passed away in Greymouth Hospital in West Coast region, South Island early Sunday morning. She tested positive for the virus on Friday morning, said Bloomfield.
He said the woman was first diagnosed with influenza. She had been treated as such, and medical staff were wearing personal protection equipment gear only suitable for influenza. As a result, 21 staff who had close contact with the patient are now in self-isolation.
New Zealand reported 60 new confirmed and three new probably cases of Covid-19 today, bringing the total number of the cases to 514 in the country.
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said that death case is the strong reason why New Zealand took strong measures to contain the disease. New Zealand has declared a national emergency and entered into national lockdown.
– Bernama