Italian health officials on Sunday reported the lowest number of CCP virus deaths since March 19, noting that 431 people died in the past 24 hours. It is down from 619 fatalities reported during the previous day.
The new figures were recorded by Italy’s Civil Protection Agency. The death toll from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus in Italy is now 19,899, officials said, according to The Local.
In the past 24 hours, the country reported 4,092 new cases of the virus, compared with 4,694 during the previous day, the agency said.
“The pressure on our hospitals continues to ease,” Civil Protection Agency chief Angelo Borrelli said.
“The worst of the first big wave of the epidemic is exhausting itself,” Massimo Galli, the director of infectious diseases at Milan’s Sacco hospital, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying. “Things are going better because fewer people need an intensive care bed.”
Authorities have been eager to note that the number of new deaths and cases has decelerated over the past several days, coming more than a month after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a nationwide lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus.
“We are extending the restrictions until May 3. It is a difficult but necessary decision for which I assume full political responsibility,” Conte told the country in an address, reported The Local.
The lockdown forces the majority of Italian businesses to close and prevents residents from leaving their homes other than for essential purposes. It was first implemented on March 8 and was originally slated to end on April 13.