As of March 18, Italy saw 475 of its people defeated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The day marked the country's highest one-day death toll of any nation affected by the coronavirus. This comes as Italy also hit a record high in deaths on Sunday. Needless to say, Italy is the hardest-hit after China.
Total number of deaths in the country is now at 2,978 while the total number of infections is at 35,713. Its fatalities accounted for more than 50% of the total COVID-19 deaths around the world, outside China.
Within Italy, 1,959 or two-thirds of the country's overall deaths were reported in the northern Lombardy region. At the same time, neighboring Emilia-Romagna in Bologna recorded 458 deaths; Turin's Piedmont region 154; and Rome's Lazio 32.
Heightened attention is now being given in Milan where infections jumped from 343 to 2,326 in just a matter of 24 hours. Milan now has a 17% increase in infections compared to 11% in Lombardy.
Another focus of concern is the high level of infection seen among Italy's medical professionals. To date, there are now 2,629 health workers with confirmed COVID-19 infections. Officials are estimating that the number of contagions is actually higher because of health workers don't normally get tested. The number of health workers infected in Italy is close to what was recorded in China (3,200.)
To address the matter, as well as relieve the overwhelmed public health system, Italy is looking to deploy 10,000 medical interns who have yet to officially swear their oaths. The measure may include those who have yet to take their final exams.
Everywhere in the country, there is a blanket ban on restaurants, bars, shops, except for supermarkets and pharmacies.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said early in March that Europe is now shaping to become the new epicenter of the virus.
Here is the breakdown of the total number of cases, new cases, total deaths, and new deaths in the region:
Spain (total cases 11178) - (new cases 1987) - (total deaths 491) - (new deaths 182)
France 7652 -1079 -175- 27
Germany 7156 -1144- 13- 0
Switzerland 2650- 450- 14- 5
The United Kingdom 1954- 407- 55- 5
Netherlands 1705- 292- 43 -19
Belgium 1486- 401 -14- 9
Austria 1332 -373- 3 -2
Norway 1308 -139 -3 -0
Sweden 1167- 108- 3- 0
Denmark 977- 79 -4 -3
Portugal 448- 117 -1- 1
Czechia 434 -136- 0 -0
Greece 387- 56 -4 -0
Finland 319- 47 -0- 0
Israel 304- 0- 0 -0
Ireland 292- 69- 2- 0
Slovenia 275- 22- 1- 1
Poland 246-96- 5- 2
Estonia 225- 20- 0- 0
Iceland 225- 45- 0- 0
Romania 184 -26- 0 -0
Luxembourg 140- 59- 1- 0
San Marino 104- 2- 11- 2
Slovakia 97- 25- 0 -0
Russian Federation 93- 0- 0- 0
Bulgaria 81 -14- 2- 0
Serbia†† 85- 23- 0- 0
Croatia 65-9-0- 0
Latvia 60- 24- 0 -0
Albania 55 -4- 1- 0
Armenia 52 -0- 0 -0
Hungary 50 -11 -1- 0
Turkey 47- 0- 0 -0
Malta 38- 8- 0- 0
Belarus 36- 0- 0 -0
Georgia 34- 1- 0- 0
Cyprus 33- 0- 0- 0
Kazakhstan 33- 27- 0- 0
North Macedonia 31 -12- 0 -0
Republic of Moldova 30- 1- 0- 0
Lithuania 25- 8- 0- 0
Azerbaijan 21- 0- 0- 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina 19- 0 -0 -0
Andorra 16- 2- 0 -0
Uzbekistan 16- 12- 0- 0
Ukraine 14 -9 -2 -1
Monaco 9- 0- 0 -0
Liechtenstein 7 -0- 0- 0
Montenegro 22- 0 -0 -I
Holy See 1- 0 -0
