"One hundred, maybe even 101" doctors died from the coronavirus pandemic in Italy, which killed a total of around 18,000 in the country, their professional federation announced on Thursday (April 9th) to AFP.

"We have the number of doctors who died because of the Covid-19, it is 100, perhaps even 101 at the moment unfortunately", indicated in the middle of the day the press service of the National Federation of the orders of doctors of surgery and odontology (FNOMCEO).

The federation's website is decorated with a black ribbon in mourning and gives the names of all the deceased doctors, some of whom were retired and were called back to support health services overwhelmed by the number of patients.

"We can no longer allow our doctors, our health operators, to be sent to fight with bare hands the virus", wrote on the site Filippo Anelli, president of FNOMCEO.

“An unequal fight”

"It is an unequal fight that hurts us, that hurts the citizens, that hurts the country," he concluded.

Thirty nurses and caregivers also died due to the Covid-19, according to Italian media. According to the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), about 10% of those infected belong to health personnel.

"Our goal is to assist patients (...) and we demonstrate this in this pandemic: it is among nurses that we find the highest percentage of positive health workers at Covid-19, about 52 Among the nurses there are those who die from Covid-19 to be close to the patients but they do so without hesitation, "said Barbara Mangiacavalli, president of FNOPI, quoted by this national federation of nurses.

Italy, which recorded its first death linked to the coronavirus at the end of February, is the country most affected in number of deaths in the world.

With AFP

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