Italy Covid-19 death toll passes 10,000 as 889 die from virus in one day

Italian officials have confirmed that at least 10,023 people died in the sweeping coronavirus pandemic, with the number of infected now standing at over 92,000 and the death rate creeping towards 11 percent.

Another night of grim casualty numbers has added 889 deaths in Italy on Saturday, the country’s Civil Protection Agency said. On Friday, Italy recorded its largest daily death toll since the outbreak began, as 919 people died.

The virus-stricken country accounts for more than a quarter of all Covid-19 fatalities worldwide.

Nearly twice as many people have died in Italy as in Spain, which has the world’s second-highest number of Covid-19 deaths. Worldwide, more than 645,000 people have been infected by the deadly virus, with just under 30,000 dying.

As casualties mount, the Italian government is reportedly considering an extension to the nationwide lockdown measures currently in place. Newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the government is planning on extending the lockdown for two weeks beyond its original end date of April 3. While the country’s northern regions are the worst-hit, Michele Emiliano, governor of the southern region of Puglia, told Reuters that his region may remain locked down until mid-May.

In the north, Russian military medics have been deployed to assist local authorities in getting the virus under control. A contingent of 100 Russian personnel touched down near Rome last weekend, and were quickly sent north to Bergamo, where they have established field hospitals and disinfection units, as well as mobile testing laboratories.

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