Italy has registered 49 new deaths linked to the coronavirus in 24 hours, that is to say 197 deaths in total since the beginning of the epidemic, according to a new assessment published Friday by the Civil Protection. Italy, the most affected country in Europe, remains in second place behind China for the number of deaths, but drops from 3rd to 4th place for the number of cases (4,636, +778 cases in 24 hours) behind China, South Korea and Iran.
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"Deaths represent 4.25% of the total" of cases, said the head of Civil Protection Angelo Borrelli at his daily press conference in Rome. "The average age of deceased people is 81, with previous pathologies". Of the 4,636 cases, 523 are cured and 3,916 are currently positive: 2,394 are hospitalized, 462 in intensive care and 1,060 in home isolation. The fate of the red zone, where eleven municipalities in the north of the country with 50,000 inhabitants have been in quarantine for almost two weeks, will be decided on Saturday. The incubation time for the new coronavirus is estimated to be around 14 days.
The Higher Institute of Health, a government body, is also studying the creation of new red zones, "in Lombardy in particular," said its president Silvio Brusaferro, present alongside Mr. Borrelli. "The figures show an increase in some areas more than in others," he said. The 21 Italian regions are now all concerned, but most of the cases are concentrated in the north.
Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, the most affected regions
The three most affected regions, all in the north, are still Lombardy (Milan region, 2,612 cases and 135 dead), Emilia-Romagna (Bologna region, 870 cases and 37 dead) and Veneto (region of Venice, 488 cases and 12 deaths).
The Italian government has adopted a series of draconian measures to stem the epidemic, including the closure of schools and universities until mid-March, in order to avoid overheating in hospitals on the peninsula.
Patient 1 of the Italian epidemic was identified on 20 February in Codogno, 60 km south of Milan. This 38-year-old man, still hospitalized in intensive care and in a serious condition, involuntarily contaminated his now healed pregnant wife, but also doctors and patients who in turn infected those around them. Doctors consider that all Italian patients are connected to patient 1.