All blocking measures have not yet had a really noticeable effect. In Italy, hundreds of people die every day in the Corona crisis. Now the EU country is even outperforming China - at least according to the officially reported figures - and reporting the most deaths worldwide.
Rome (dpa) - Italy has reported more deaths than China in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, making it the country with the most officially reported deaths in the world.
So far, 3405 people infected with the pathogen have died, said civil defense on Thursday in Rome. To what extent the official statistics in China reflect the real situation and how high the number of unreported cases is is unclear. China has repeatedly caused confusion among international observers with changes in the way infections are counted. A high number of unreported cases is also expected in Italy.
China still complains of new deaths every day. According to official data, eight people were killed on Thursday, bringing the total number of victims to 3,245. A total of 80,928 infected people were registered in mainland China, more than 66,000 of whom have recovered. In Italy, the number of those infected has now risen to over 41,000. The previous day there were still around 35,700. The number of deaths in Italy rose by 427 in one day.
The EU country has imposed drastic measures. These are now to be extended. School closings and curfews were originally scheduled until April 3 - the government is expected to expand soon.
The number of deaths in Italy is remarkably high compared to the officially reported infections. There could be several reasons for this: Italy has one of the oldest populations in the world. In addition, many grandparents live with their children and grandchildren in the house or are more involved in everyday life than, for example, in Germany. Therefore, infections are easier. Experts also assume that the number of unreported cases among infected people is significantly higher than stated, and many cases that are mild or asymptomatic are not recorded.
Civil defense to corona crisis
