Corona measures in Italy extended - well-known comedian shoots against Germany: "cold hearted"

In Italy, the corona virus has caused a devastating situation. The number of deaths and infected people is increasing. The developments in the news ticker.

• The Coronavirus * pandemic has hit Italy particularly hard.
• The number of official deaths from Covid-19 lung disease continues to rise.
• The curfew * in Italy has been in effect since March 9.
• Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus and the corona news from Germany. You can also find current case numbers in Germany as a map. The following recommendations for corona protective measures are currently available.

++ This ticker has ended. You can find all the latest news about the corona virus in Italy in our new news ticker. ++

2:15 p.m .: The well-known Italian comedian and actor Tullio Solenghi (72) rages against Europe and Germany in a short video. He accuses the Germans of being "arrogant" and "cold-hearted" and leaving his country in the lurch in the Corona crisis. He mentions Nazi Germany - and against this background shows no understanding of the attitude of the federal government.

Solenghi is about the Grand Coalition rejecting euro bonds *. However, his Facebook video does not mention that Italian intensive care patients are treated in German hospitals and that Germany has sent breathing masks.

@en_germany very famous Italian Person TULLIO SOLENGHI talk about Germany pic.twitter.com/nCHW2gjalp

Update, 10.18 a.m .: The Italian government extends the strict exit restrictions for 60 million citizens due to the Corona crisis until April 13.

The Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza announced in Rome in the Senate. The government had already announced this extension earlier this week. Since March 10th, people in the country are no longer allowed to move freely. Schools are closed, as are many factories. The restrictions previously applied until April 3.

Corona in Italy: Mafia senses great opportunity in crisis - you could earn from pandemic

Update, 9.48 a.m .: The Corona pandemic has plunged the Italian economy into the abyss. Many companies will not survive the crisis. Organized crime, however, could benefit.

According to Italian experts, 65 percent of small and medium-sized companies face bankruptcy. "You just have to look at the portfolio of mafia groups to see how much they can make from the pandemic ," said author and mafia expert Roberto Saviano of La Repubblica newspaper. In the past decades, they have invested in service companies for canteens, cleaning and disinfection, in waste recycling, transport, funeral homes, and in logistics for oil and food. "The mafia will make money with it," says Saviano.

The mafia "is already planning carefully for the time when the economy will be rebuilt," says investigator Governale. "There will be a lot of money in circulation." His agency is already working on a plan to prevent the mafia from infiltrating. "They will look for loopholes in the system. We will have to watch out for suspicious operations, the creation of new companies and bogus companies. ”

Corona in Italy: Trials against Mafia defendants have come to a standstill

In an open letter to President Sergio Mattarella, witnesses in anti-mafia trials warned of the danger that financially strapped small business owners would borrow money from the mafia . Company executives could "in a desperate act" turn to the only ones "who currently have substantial funds - members of organized crime," the letter said.

At the same time, the epidemic is making the fight against organized crime more difficult. The lawsuits against hundreds of Mafia defendants have come to a standstill. Some also fear rioting instigated by the mafia .

Corona in Italy: Lombardy village spared the virus

Update from April 1, 7.45 a.m .: The village of Ferrera Erbognone is located in the Corona stronghold of Lombardy, only around 50 kilometers from Milan. Nevertheless, it looks as if the village in the province of Pavia has so far been spared the virus wave . It can be a coincidence that no cases have been registered. But the residents share their joy about their special situation with many media in Italy - as a sign of good news in bad times.

"We are proud and happy about this situation," said shop owner Mery De Luca of the German Press Agency. However, residents are still afraid because so many other people around them have died of Covid 19 disease .

In Lombardy, the authorities registered around 40 percent of Italy's over 100,000 corona cases . A study planned by the village mayor on why there were no cases in the village of just under 1200 people was stopped by the health authorities in Lombardy.

Corona in Italy - Conte warns citizens and makes an urgent appeal to Europe

10:50 pm: Due to the dramatic situation in Italy, Russia had sent medical and personnel help to the country last week.

In a report by the Bild newspaper, however, this is said to have been propaganda. The Bild newspaper cites a former officer in the Italian army. According to him, it was a "PR campaign". "The material we brought with us is not 80 percent useless, but 100 percent," he said.

20:27: Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte spoke on ARD Extra on Tuesday evening. The country is still in an “up-to-date” phase, but Conte will surely manage to get through it.

In the dispute over so-called corona bonds he had asked for Germany's approval and said that all EU member states could benefit from such euro bonds. They did not mean that the Germans "had to pay even one euro for the Italian debt when Italy was about to rebuild".

Corona in Italy: Conte calls Covid-19 a common invisible enemy

Ultimately, the coronavirus crisis is not about the financial difficulties of individual member states. "It is an emergency for which no single Member State is solely responsible," said Conte. Then he continued: “What do we want to do in Europe? Does each Member State want to go its own way? If the response is not a common, serious and coordinated response, Europe will become less and less competitive, including in the global market. ”

Europe has a common invisible enemy with the novel corona virus. All member states are involved in this struggle. "We are all at the front," said Conte. "If only one outpost gives way, only one trench collapses, then the enemy spreads out inside." Europe, according to Conte, must now show that it is "a common European house".

Corona: optimism in Italy - but Prime Minister Conte warns

In Italy, meanwhile, there is growing optimism that the Corona wave may come to an end: on Tuesday, the number of new infections rose again only moderately. However, the death toll remained high at 837 within 24 hours.

Civil protection in Rome registered almost 2,000 more cases of infection than the previous day. Although these were slightly more new infections than Monday, the numbers overall signaled a slowdown in the infection wave. The number of all people who tested positive for the virus in Italy climbed to 105,792 people - an increase of four percent, which was a particularly low overall increase.

The Italians now have to be careful not to become negligent despite a small increase in the number of infected people, otherwise the previous efforts have been in vain, warned Conte at ARD Extra .

Corona in Italy: 63 doctors have already died - gradual opening of the curfew is in the offing

3:44 p.m .: Italian politicians sent an open letter to Germany , which has now been published in a full-page advertisement in the FAZ . In it, they again call for the so-called Eurobonds , which are intended to allow the EU countries to borrow jointly due to the corona crisis. Germany is one of the countries that has so far been against the demand.

In the letter, the group of Italian politicians appeals to Germany's solidarity and thus apparently wants to build up public pressure. The letter is particularly harshly criticized in the letter for the Netherlands' attitude towards the bonds.

Germany is however reminded in the letter of the 1953 London Debt Agreement . In it, Germany was released a large part of its debts after the Second World War . To help Germany's economy get back on its feet, many countries waived money: "Berlin avoided default because its debts were halved by 21 countries, including Italy," the letter said.

Germany wants to be reminded "how a large country should behave in an emergency", wrote the Italian MEP Carlo Calenda via Twitter to the letter.

Con @BeppeSala @giorgio_gori @sbonaccini @GiovanniToti @LuigiBrugnaro e altri abbiamo preso una pagina della @faznet per parlare ai tedeschi perché ricordino come dovrebbe comportarsi un grande paese durante un'emergenza. pic.twitter.com/5HhUFUUasO

Bonds, on the other hand, are not about the communitization of public old debts, but about sufficient funds for a large European bailout plan, it continues. European countries' debt will inevitably be much higher after the crisis. "The way we deal with this shared burden will be decisive for how we can contain the disease, but also how and to what extent we can recover and ultimately for the cohesion of the euro area."

The dispute over corona bonds is dividing the EU countries. Italy, Spain, France and other countries are vehemently demanding them, while Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and others are blocking themselves.

Corona in Italy: 63 doctors have already died - gradual opening of the curfew is in the offing

3.20 p.m .: 63 Italian doctors have meanwhile died as a result of a coronavirus infection. The Medical Association lists every single colleague who lost his life in the fight against the virus. So far there are 59 men and three women between the ages of 49 and 91. Most medical professionals died in the most affected region around Bergamo. Many of the infected doctors are general practitioners who came into contact with the patient unprotected.

Corona in Italy: Gradual opening of the curfew is in the offing

2:35 p.m .: Italy is the country in Europe that has been hardest hit by the corona virus . There are also the most deaths worldwide here. Nevertheless, the population longs for an end to curfews . A study had given the beginning of May as a possible point in time when there could be no new infections in Italy. (See entry from March 30, 1:10 p.m.).

In the current situation, the curfew was extended on Monday until at least Easter. But what will the country's reopening look like? According to a report by the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano , it will obviously result in a gradual opening. The paper writes about "rumors" that from May 4, public life could slowly start up again.

The curfew should still apply, especially over the Easter holidays, which traditionally lead to large gatherings in Italy. After the report, the production stop is lifted after the first. Only then would further restrictions be relaxed.

According to the report, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will meet the opposition on Wednesday and discuss the next steps.

Coronavirus in Italy: Pope's representative infected for the diocese of Rome

10:58: The Pope's representative for the diocese of Rome has contracted the lung disease Covid- 19 . The diocese's cardinal vicar , Angelo De Donatis , was the first cardinal to be infected with the coronavirus, the Vatican media platform Vaticannews reported. The 66-year-old had a fever and was in the hospital, but he was fine, the diocese of Rome announced on Monday evening. It is located in the Roman clinic, where popes are also treated.

The Pope is Bishop of Rome. Francis has had no contact with De Donatis lately, said Vaticannews. There are now a few Corona cases in the small Papal States. However, Francis is not affected, as the Vatican said at the weekend.

9:33 am: According to the Johns Hopkins University, 101,739 people are currently infected with the novel corona virus in Italy. 11,591 people died as a result. 14,620 have recovered from an illness.

Update March 31, 5:59 p.m .: According to President Donald Trump, the United States will send medical devices for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic to Italy and other countries. The delivery of medical and surgical equipment to Italy is planned to be worth around one hundred million dollars (about 91 million euros), Trump said in Washington on Monday.

The President did not explain what type of equipment it is. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was "very, very happy" with the delivery, he said only. The US President had called Conte shortly before.

Deliveries of medical devices are also planned for later to France, Spain and other countries, Trump said. There is an oversupply of certain medical devices in the United States that this material could go abroad.

Meanwhile, more people die from coronavirus in Ialien than in any other country. We explain why this is the case here.

Corona in Italy: study names date for “end of hell”

Update 10:16 pm: Because of the Corona crisis, the Italian government extends the strict exit restrictions for 60 million citizens until at least Easter . The local Ministry of Health announced on Monday evening. So far, the exit bans were valid until next Friday. They started about three weeks ago, on March 10th.

Update at 8:11 p.m .: In Italy , the increase in the number of people currently tested positive for the coronavirus is as low as it has not been since the start of the national curfews. The number of people currently sick rose to 16,548 by Monday to 16,548 - and is thus at a level that has not been since March 10 . However, dead and healed people are not included in this figure.

Meanwhile , the number of total infections rose to 101,739 , said the civil defense. However, the percentage increase was also smaller here. However, the number of deceased remains higher than in any other country in the world. As of Monday, 812 people were killed , now totaling 11,591 .

In the meantime, China also reports very few new infections. However, there are considerable doubts about the correctness of the official figures. Markus Söder also announced on Wednesday about the new plans for the

Corona virus in Bavaria.

A scientific study has now looked at when the peak and possibly an end of the corona pandemic in Germany could have been reached.

Corona virus in Italy: Debate on easing restrictions has started

Update 4:43 p.m .: Given hopes of stabilization in new corona infections , a debate has started in Italy on ways to relax the restrictions. At the same time, experts warned that a return to normality would only take place in small steps. "There are no signs of a decline yet, but it is getting better," said President of the National Health Institute ISS, Silvio Brusaferro, Monday's La Repubblica newspaper.

"We wait until Easter and will then check the numbers to take further steps," he said of the possible time frame. In Italy there are strict exit bans with few exceptions until Friday. The government is expected to extend it.

Corona virus in Italy: new study names possible time for "end of hell"

1:10 p.m .: In Italy there is a first study that names a possible time for the “end of hell” , as the Italian newspaper Il Giornale is titled. The Einaudi Institute of Economics and Finance, an independent university research center in Rome, has recently published a basic forecast of when there will be no new corona infections.

The number of new infections in Italy could drop to zero between May 5 and 16. In some regions of Italy, including Veneto and Piedmont, it could be so far in the first half of April. The fastest forecast could be to South Tyrol: April 6 is given as a possible time when there will be no new infections.

In contrast, it takes longer in the heavily affected regions. April 22nd for Lombardy and April 28th for Emilia-Romagna. The last region will therefore be Tuscany. This is where the curve of new cases used for the prognosis bends the slowest.

Another study by a US research group gives far less hope: The scientists want to have found out that a coronavirus carrier can also be infected with the virus up to eight meters away if it sneezes, for example. So now you give one

extreme recommendation

from.

In Austria, a protective mask requirement was prescribed in supermarkets. There is said to be a similar obligation in Jena. Will there be a mask requirement all over Germany soon?

Corona virus in Italy: the latest figures

Update of March 30, 9:29 am: According to the Johns Hopkins University, 97,689 people in Italy are currently infected with the corona virus. Accordingly, 10,779 died on the rims. 13,030 people have recovered from an illness.

Meanwhile, the situation in nursing homes in Germany continues to deteriorate. 17 people from a nursing home in Wolfsburg died after being infected with the coronavirus. The number of cases is increasing nationwide. The situation remains controversial in NRW as well.

Corona: Italy's south becomes a “powder keg” - police officers have to protect supermarkets from desperate citizens

News from March 29:

Update, 9.45pm: Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and France's President Emmanuel Macron have called for European solidarity in the Corona crisis.

The European Union has an appointment with history and history does not wait, you have to do it justice, wrote Conte in an emotional post on Twitter: “The response to the coronavirus emergency must be strong, energetic and common. I will fight for the Italian citizens until the last drop of sweat. ”

L'Unione europea ha un appuntamento con la storia e la storia non aspetta, bisogna esserne all'altezza. La reazione all'emergenza #Coronavirus deve essere forte, vigorosa e coesa. Mi batterò per i cittadini italiani fino all'ultima goccia di sudore.

Macron already supports his Italian counterpart. The point is to be able to borrow more EU-backed debt to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic . According to a comment from the daily La Stampa , the entire gross domestic product is at stake in Italy .

"We will not overcome this crisis without a strong European solidarity on health and household issues," said Macron in an interview with the Italian newspapers Corriere de la Serra , La Stampa and La Repubblica.

In Austria, the Corona measures were taken into account after two weeks. Chancellor Kurz explains how to proceed and how to proceed with the corona restrictions. *

Corona crisis in Italy: Giuseppe Conte announces the issue of food stamps

Update, 9:20 pm: Italy is sinking ever deeper into the Corona crisis , the most difficult challenge for the country since World War II, as Giuseppe Conte emphasized several times.

Prime Minister of Italy: Giuseppe Conte.

© dpa / Roberto Monaldo

The Italian prime minister even announced the issue of food vouchers at the weekend. The Corriere della Sera wrote about a ticking "social time bomb" in the region, where around five million people live, because of the first looting in Sicily. Citizens are considered highly unsettled because the economy has come to a standstill and some of them are no longer earning money.

Conte is aware of the increasing fear and strain of the population. In a press conference on Saturday evening he announced the issue of food vouchers for people in acute need of money. "We know that many suffer, but the state is there," he said. The government released 400 million euros for the municipalities to help people "who have no money to buy food".

"Nobody is left alone," assured

Conte

. The government's goal is to "secure cash for families, businesses, and workers."

The demand for respiratory masks is currently increasing enormously worldwide. US buyers are increasingly trying to outbid European masks.

Corona crisis in Italy: Hundreds more people die with Covid-19

Update, 7:50 p.m .: An Italian doctor from Milan had recently caused a sensation with a lot of criticism of the healthcare system in Italy . Now a Berlin nurse also went verbally on the offensive.

Specifically: The young nurse Nina Magdalena Böhmer (28) accuses the Federal Government of actually abandoning the hospitals in the Corona crisis. That is why she sharply criticizes Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CSU) * - and sends out clear words to all citizens who go to balconies to applaud medical staff.

Update, 6:55 p.m .: Hundreds of coronavirus- infected patients die again in Italy .

As the civil defense in Rome announced on Sunday evening, the number of corona infections who died rose by 756 to 10,779. After all, the increase in new infections has slowed further.

Rome: workers in protective clothing disinfect sidewalks in a quarter to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

© dpa / Mauro Scrobogna

The total number of people suffering from corona since the beginning of the pandemic has increased by 5217 to now 97,689, while the number of people who have been cured has increased by 646 to 13,030.

Update, 5.15 p.m .: The first two Italian corona patients are expected for medical treatment in Bavaria this Sunday.

Bavaria helps Italy in the Corona crisis: Today the first two patients from Italy arrive in Bavaria. In total, we will admit 10 patients within the next few days as far as possible. They are distributed to clinics in Bavaria. It is important to help in an emergency.

"In the next few days, we will admit a total of ten patients as far as possible," wrote Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) at the short message service Twitter . The Italian patients are to be distributed to various clinics across the country, with the exception of Munich. "It is important to help in an emergency," said Söder.

Update, 4.15 p.m .: The Corona crisis in Italy is now also manifesting itself drastically in the south of the country.

According to reports, there have been reports of the first looting for lack of money. In Sicily, armed police officers took a stand in front of supermarkets.

Corona crisis in Italy: looting in Sicily for lack of money

An example: Four police officers stood in front of the entrances of a supermarket in Palermo on Saturday afternoon, as an AFP reporter reported. According to press reports, hopelessness is growing in Italy given the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the economy.

Monitor the curfew: police officers in Italy, here in Rome.

© dpa / Matteo Losito

The economy is slumping due to the curfew and the closure of all non-vital companies and factories. Millions of people have no income as a result.

Corona in Italy: Cashiers and shopkeepers put under pressure by desperate citizens

According to the daily La Repubblica , a group of locals left a Sicilian supermarket on Thursday without paying. "We have no money to pay, we have to eat," said one of them to the cashiers.

The Corriere della Sera reported that in other Sicilian cities, small shop owners had been pressured by residents to give them free food.

Update of March 29, 9:07 am: There are now more than 10,000 coronavirus deaths in Italy . So far, the north of the country has been particularly affected. However, the disease continues to spread in the south. Fear of social unrest is also increasing in the economically poorer region.

San Mauro Torinese: Pilots of Squa Sapr of a special military corps use drones to carry out surveillance flights over the area of ​​the municipality of San Mauro. This is intended to support the police forces as to whether the curfew is being observed.

© dpa / Fabio Ferrari

Giuseppe Provenzano, the Minister for Southern Italy, warned on Saturday in an interview with the daily La Republica that the South could become a “social powder keg” if the extremely restrictive measures in Italy continued. In addition to strict curfews, Italy also has a production stop.

Corona crisis in Italy: mob plunders supermarket - poverty worsens

An incident in Palermo shows that this fear is not unfounded: on Friday, a group of looters raided a supermarket in the city in Sicily and then escaped with stolen goods. They complained to a report by the Italian daily il Fatto Quitidiano that they had no money to pay. Because of the incident, the city's main shopping centers are now being monitored by the police. The current situation is exacerbating the situation of many poor southern Italians. More than a thousand families have now asked the city for access to food, the report said.

The Italian government also sees a risk that the liquidity problems of companies could lead to the mafia continuing to penetrate the economy. For example, because companies would borrow money from criminal organizations. The Austrian Kronen-Zeitung reports, citing the assessment of the Sicilian regional parliamentarian Claudia Fava.

The Italian government is now trying to respond to the situation. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Saturday that more than four billion euros would be invested to provide the needy with medicines and food.

The Italian president now caused a smile among his compatriots thanks to a glitch in a TV speech about the corona virus. In the meantime, the coronavirus is spreading even more in Russia. *

After the attempted looting of a supermarket in #Palermo, the Italian government is now afraid of several trouble spots. In another ad hoc decision, the government of #Conte transfers € 4.3 billion to the mayors, which are to be paid to poor families. # COVID19

Corona virus in Italy: More than 10,000 dead - German Air Force now flies out patients

News from March 28th:

Update, 9:15 p.m .: In Italy , mainly older people infected with the coronavirus die. Protective measures are taken worldwide for this risk group - for example, special opening times in supermarkets. Soon also in Germany *?

Update, 8.50 p.m .: While Italy has more than 10,000 deaths due to the corona virus , there is now the first small glimmer of hope. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a press conference in Rome on Saturday evening: "Today we had the highest number of people who were healed."

Conte added: "At the beginning of the week we will meet with the experts and are confident that they will bring us further good news." He has now released 4.3 billion euros for the support of the communities, Conte continued.

Civil protection chief Angelo Borrelli thanked Germany on Saturday for accepting Italian patients. He also defended the measures his government has taken so far against the spread of the epidemic, without which the number of victims would be much higher.

Corona in Italy: Six employees of the Holy See fell ill

The Vatican reported two new Corona cases on Saturday. The total number of people suffering from Covid-19 among the staff of the Holy See and the citizens of the Vatican State rose to six, as spokesman Matteo Bruni said. "I can confirm that neither the Holy Father nor his closest associates are affected," he said.

Corona situation in Italy: More than 10,000 dead - German Air Force now flies out patients

Update, 6.30 p.m .: In Italy, more than 10,000 people have died as a result of an infection with the new coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 since the pandemic began.

Civil protection in Italy reported 889 new deaths on Saturday. The total number of deaths rose to 10,023. Hardly any more people are reported as well. But the number of people recovered could be much higher because it is not explicitly recorded in all countries. The number of new infections in Italy is slowly leveling off.

Numerous Catholic dioceses make rooms and real estate available. The Italian Bishops' Conference said in Rome on Saturday that there are more than 500 overnight accommodations for civil defense and the state health care system. 300 additional accommodations would be available for people in quarantine or patients discharged from clinical treatment, and almost 300 additional places for the homeless.

Corona situation in Italy becoming more and more glorious - now the German Air Force intervenes with a special Airbus

Update, 4:30 p.m .: The situation in Italy is becoming increasingly devastating. On Friday, the EU member reported almost 1,000 deaths due to the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus . The hospitals are overcrowded, the medical staff is reaching their limits every day.

Tweet: Air Force Airbus brings Italian patients to Germany

Last week, Italian military jets had brought Italian patients to Germany to relieve the overcrowded intensive care units. The German Air Force participated in the rescue mission for the first time this Saturday.

Corona in Italy: Six intensive care patients from Bergamo in Germany

Specifically: The Airbus A310 MedEvac , the flying intensive care unit of the Air Force, flew from Cologne to Bergamo on Saturday to bring patients to North Rhine-Westphalia for intensive care.

Cologne: The Airbus A310 MedEvac, the flying intensive care unit of the Bundeswehr, has returned from Bergamo.

© dpa / Kevin Schrief

The aircraft returned to Cologne with six seriously ill Italians on board at noon, as a spokesman for the Air Force told the German Press Agency .

"In times of greatest need, it goes without saying that we stand by our friends," said Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) on the mission. "That is why we are now bringing seriously ill patients from Italy to Germany for treatment with our flying intensive care unit of the Air Force. It is an important sign of solidarity. Europe has to stick together. "

The MedEvac Airbus is a spectacular Bundeswehr aircraft. There are up to six places for intensive care treatment on board. There are also 38 additional berths, whereby increased medical monitoring with monitors is possible for 16 patients. This means that 44 patients can be transported lying down.

The responsible doctor, senior medical officer Susanne C., is in the Airbus A310 MedEvac, the flying intensive care unit of the Bundeswehr.

© dpa / Kevin Schrief

The medical crew can count up to 25 people. The Air Force always has a MedEvac Airbus on standby at Cologne-Wahn Airport . In the coming days, further flights to northern Italy , which is severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, are planned.

Done. The 6 intensive care patients from Bergamo landed in Cologne with our # A310. They are then transported to clinics in Cologne, Bonn and Bochum. Together with @SanDstBw, more flights are planned in the next few days. # COVID19 #StrongerTogether @GermaniaItalia pic.twitter.com/MoNnhD25lw

Corona situation in Italy is becoming increasingly tragic: Conte urges European solidarity

Update 3:16 pm: Italy and France are now calling for European solidarity - and thus indirectly attacking the Chancellor. Germany has been fighting debt communization for years - but that's exactly what nine EU countries around Italy and France are now demanding in a letter to EU Council President Charles Michel . Italy's Prime Minister Conte sees the current crisis as a crisis that affects all countries together and therefore also needs a common plan to rebuild the economy.

Meanwhile, the patients who are flown from Italy to NRW have landed in Cologne.

Update of March 28, 8:01 am: The Corona crisis continues to paralyze Italy. In the meantime, patients have to be flown to Germany. Bitter: After the USA, Italy has now overtaken China in the number of confirmed corona infections. According to Johns Hopkins University, 86,468 diseases were reported to our European neighbors, including 9134 deaths. China has 81,946 infections and 3,299 fatalities.

Bad pictures: Italian army soldiers with mouthguards are waiting for the coffins from the Bergamo area to be carried from the military vehicle into a building of the Cinisello Balsamo cemetery.

© picture alliance / dpa / Claudio Furlan

Update of March 27, 11:10 p.m .: Pope Francis spoke the special blessing "Urbi et Orbi" in Rome in a one-time action - in front of the deserted St. Peter's Square, on which 100,000 believers normally fit well.

“Deep darkness has settled on our squares, streets and cities. It has taken over our lives and filled everything with a deafening silence and a bleak emptiness that paralyzes everything as it passes, ”said the pontiff on Friday evening.

Corona in Italy: The coronavirus-infected Juventus Turin star is doing better

Update of March 27, 8:20 p.m .: Football and Serie A are also paralyzed in Italy due to the corona virus.

Football star Paulo Dybala, who tested positive for the corona virus, is on the mend after acute symptoms. "I can move, walk and do some training again," said the 26-year-old in an interview with the TV channel of his club Juventus Turin : "A few days ago I felt a certain weight, now things are going much better."

Check out this post on Instagram

Estamos bien

A post shared by Paulo Dybala (@paulodybala) on Mar 25, 2020 at 11:28 am PDT

At the beginning of the week, he “felt very tired after five minutes. My muscles ached, ”said the Argentine. His girlfriend Oriana Sabatini, who was also infected with the virus, is doing better.

Also in Piedmont, whose capital is Turin , there are now many Corona cases .

Update from March 27, 6.30 p.m .: Further Corona News: German researchers have made a real breakthrough in the fight against the corona virus * - this is how the reproductive enzyme is decoded.

In Munich, on the other hand, more than 200 restaurateurs are making a cry for help * to Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) because of the corona crisis.

Corona crisis in Italy: more deaths than on any other day

Update from March 27, 6:10 p.m .: Sad climax of the Corona crisis in Italy - so far.

The Italians reported nearly 1,000 deaths from the corona pandemic in just one day - more than ever before. As it is officially stated, it has not been finally clarified whether the dead died with or on Covid-19 .

80 percent of the dead were over 70 years old, said the president of the national health institute (ISS), Silvio Brusaferro. 50 percent of the deceased also had at least three or more previous illnesses.

Sad convoy: military trucks carrying coffins from the deceased drive on the highway near Bergamo, one of the worst affected areas by the coronavirus pandemic.

© picture alliance / dpa / Luca Bruno

The number of deaths due to the corona pandemic thus rose provisionally by 969 to 9134 so far, as of earlier Friday evening, March 27. As the civil defense in Rome announced, the total number of infected people increased by almost 6,000 to 86,498. Only in the USA have more infected people been counted worldwide.

According to the top health institute, the curve of new infections is flattening somewhat - but it has not yet peaked.

Update of March 27, 4.30 p.m .: While epidemiologist Adriano Decarli expressed himself with a new theory on the outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy, doubts about the official figures are currently growing enormously.

More and more politicians and government officials are speaking up in northern Italy. They think the official death and infection numbers are far too low.

Corona in Italy: doubts about the official case numbers are getting louder

For example, only 31 deaths have so far been reported in Nembro near Bergamo , which is severely affected by the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus . Mayor Claudio Cancelli and an official wrote this on Thursday in the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera".

The men wrote that they were not convinced by anything in this number. "That's why we and the statistics on average deaths in the community from previous years looked from January to March," it continues.

Italian doctors fight day and night for people infected with the coronavirus.

© dpa / Claudio Furlan

"Under normal circumstances, the number of deaths should be around 35. But this year we recorded 158 (deaths), 123 more than the average." As a result, the 31 deaths currently reported may not be consistent with reality .

Corona in Italy: Mayor of Brescia doubts the official figures

Similar inconsistencies should also exist in other places in the region. The mayor of the city of Brescia, which is severely affected by the corona virus, had also questioned the numbers.

The infections and deaths are much higher than officially stated . The reason for this is that many sick people are at home and you don't even know how they're doing, according to Mayor Emilio Del Bono.

Corona: Bad situation in Italy - was the reason nine years ago? New outbreak theory

First report from March 27: In Italy , the situation remains devastating due to the corona virus. Although there has recently been talk of a slight decrease in new infections, the numbers are rising again.

In Italy, more than 80,000 people are infected with the disease. The John Hopkins University , according to (as of March 27) are 8,215 people from the effects of the coronavirus died.

While doubts about the number of cases in Italy are increasing, a new theory about the outbreak of the coronavirus * is now coming to the public.

Corona: Did the virus appear in Italy in the last quarter of 2019?

Adriano Decarli, an epidemiologist from the University of Milan told Reuters, that there was a significantly higher number of flu and pneumonia infections in Lombardy in the third quarter of 2019 .

Decarli did not give exact numbers, but indicated that there were hundreds more cases than usual. "We want to know whether the virus was already in Italy at the end of 2019 and - if so - why it remained undetected for a relatively long period of time," said the epidemiologist.

If the theory is actually correct, all previous figures on infected people and deaths * would literally have to be thrown out of the box, as focus.de reports. The question of “patient zero” * remains unanswered. Meanwhile, a heartbreaking video from Italy's restricted areas went around the world.

Corona in Italy: is the EU the cause of the devastating situation?

Meanwhile, hospitals and medical staff are reaching their limits in Corona times *. The clinics are overcrowded. More and more people are becoming infected with the virus . What role does the EU play in this?

The fact is: in 2011 Italy experienced a drastic wave of cuts - imposed by the European Central Bank (ECB) - which also affected the healthcare system . The ECB said in a letter that protection against rising interest rates on Italian government bonds would only be granted on condition of severe cuts. The result: the Italian government made the cuts and the number of hospitals in the country fell by 15 percent, as freitag.de mentioned in a report. 15 percent that the Italian healthcare system currently lacks.

Coronavirus: Are Healthcare Spending Cuts Fatal?

Even in the crisis of the euro zone that followed the financial crash of 2007 and 2008 , the ECB and the EU Commission literally moved mountains to save banks and financial players. However, public spending on social issues was largely ignored, which affected health systems in particular.

Is Europe now doomed to spending cuts and efforts to curb the increase in health spending?

The situation is also getting worse in Spain: 600 deaths within 24 hours. Experts make a bad assumption. They fear the second wave in China. Germany is discussing cell phone data monitoring - a virologist is strictly against it.

* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network

Rubric list picture: © Facebook / Tullio Solenghi