Italy Reports 427 COVID-19 Deaths in a Single Day

Medical workers in overalls stretch a patient under intensive care into the newly built temporary hospital at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, Italy, on March 16, 2020. (Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images)

Italian health officials said that 427 people have died from the new CCP virus in the past 24 hours, its second-worst death toll in as many days.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

Now, the Civil Protection agency said that 3,405 people have died amid the pandemic, according to officials in a state-run ANSA report on Thursday.

Since March 9, Italy has been under lockdown in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus by shutting down most aspects of everyday life as well as businesses. According to The Associated Press, Italy has reported more than 40,000 infections.

“We need doctors, I hoped that among the calls we had made in recent days between retirees and interns, there would be a response. Instead, there was no response,” Lombardy Gov. Attilio Fontana pleaded, according to ANSA.

Health authorities reported 475 deaths in 24 hours the day before, marking the worst death to date.

The country, like several others in the European Union, is still under lockdown as officials try to curb the virus’s spread. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed that closures will have to be extended to April 3.

“The total blockade will go on,” Conte told newspaper Corriere Della Sera. “The measures taken, both the closure of (public) activities and the ones concerning schools, can only be extended,” he told the paper.

“Some people think they’re some kind of modern-day hero when they break the rules—but they’re imbeciles, and a danger to themselves,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said, according to BBC.

According to the rules, people can leave their homes to obtain food or drugs at grocery stores and pharmacies, go to work, and perform other services.

Spain’s death toll from the CCP virus epidemic has risen by 209 in 24 hours—the worst day so far for the country, according to the health ministry on Thursday.

Spain is now the second worst-hit country in Europe, reporting a total of 767 fatalities from the virus, after Italy. So far, 17,149 cases have been confirmed in Spain, health authorities said.

Days ago, a national emergency was implemented that bans Spaniards from all but essential outings. Officials said about 49 people were arrested for disobeying the ordinance over the past several hours, Reuters reported.

“The toughest moments are still to come, those moments when we will continue to see an increase in the number of cases,” Health Minister Salvador Illa told reporters.