The coronavirus outbreak in Europe is getting worse by the day, particularly in Italy, as the country lost a devastating 793 lives to its CoVID-19 battle, and other European countries saw new cases on Saturday.
Italy's Death Surge Hits Almost 800
On Saturday, the Italian government revealed that a total of 793 people died, marking the second day that Italy saw a massive number of deaths. The country now has a total of 4,825 deaths from the novel coronavirus, Al Jazeera reported.
Italy has been on lockdown for the past week but the government further tightened its guidelines on lockdown implementation following the new deaths.
Only Most Essential Businesses to Operate
With the new guidelines released on Saturday after the spike in death toll was confirmed, only the most essential businesses will be allowed to open. All other operations will be shut down until April 3, the Italian government said.
While not much details were provided on Saturday, an emergency decree is expected to be released Sunday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Conte also said through his social media pages that Italy is faced with "the most difficult crisis in our post-war period." His comments came as other countries across Europe are also tightening ropes to prevent further coronavirus infections.
France Death Toll Passes 100 in One Day
While Italy is still leading the way in most deaths in a single day, France also recorded a significant spike in lives lost to the CoVID-19 strain on Saturday.
The French health ministry confirmed on Saturday that the country saw 112 deaths from the fast-spreading disease, bringing the country's total death toll to 562.
Out of 6,172 people admitted to different medical facilities across the country, 1,525 people were in critical condition, the ministry revealed. Furthermore, about half of the people who were in severe condition were adults below 60 years old.
France now has a total of 14,459 confirmed CoVID-19 cases.
Spain Drops the Hard Truth
The Spanish government on Saturday had to give a hard pill to swallow for its citizens as it warned that "the worst is yet to come." The warning came after Spain's death toll surged past 1,300, Reuters reported.
Spain saw one of the biggest surges in new cases as the country's coronavirus cases hit 24,926 on Saturday from 19,980 the previous day. Deaths were in the hundreds as the country recorded a total of 1,326 deaths from 1,0002 on Friday.
The government said it will ramp up coronavirus testing to determine the true extent of the virus in the country.
Germany's New Cases Soar above 2,700
On Saturday, Germany reported 2,705 new CoVID-19 cases in a single day, bringing the country's total number of cases to 16,662.
Furthermore, the country lost 47 citizens to the highly-infectious disease. The government has yet to agree on an economic aid package that should help curb the impact of the crisis on citizens' livelihoods and businesses.
Germany Plans Billion-Dollar Package
The German government is reportedly planning to establish an economic aid package worth €822 billion or approximately $884.7 billion that includes salary inclusions for employees who were forced to work part-time due to the coronavirus crisis.
The news came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week that the government will do what it can to get the country out of the crisis. She reiterated that ending the health emergency is the government's priority.
Sweden Reports 61 ICU Patients
In Sweden, the CoVID-19 death toll reached 20 on Saturday. The government also reported 61 patients who were under intensive care, as revealed by data from the Swedish Intensive Care Register.
Health providers recently changed the way testing was implemented, which raises questions on the true extent of infections across the country since the new changes were rolled out.
Sweden has a total of 1,746 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Saturday.
Norway Reports 135 Admitted Patients
Norway reported that as of Friday evening, 135 people were admitted in hospitals across the country. 26 of the said patients were placed on a respirator to assist with their breathing problems.
The country has tested 43,735 people and it recorded a total of 1,742 confirmed CoVID-19 cases. Norwegians have been urged to avoid partying and going out as the number of infected patients gradually rise.
