ITALY DROP IN DEATHS
The death rate from coronavirus in Italy showed its first decline in several days last night as almost 8000 doctors volunteered to join the front-line fight against the virus in the country’s hard-hit northern regions.
A total of 651 new deaths were reported yesterday – a near 20 per cent fall on the previous 24 hours when 793 died from the virus – taking the overall death toll to 5476 from a total of 59,138 cases.
The daily rate of new infections in Italy also slowed, with a 9 per cent rise, compared with an average of about 15 per cent in the past two weeks. It comes as Italy moved to close all ‘‘non-strategic’’ business activities, with Giuseppe Conte, the premier, warning the country would demand drastic sacrifices from its people.
‘‘We have no other alternative,’’ he said.
‘‘Time is needed to see the effects of the measures . . . we need to stay home.’’
In his weekly prayer, Pope Francis urged all Italians to follow isolation measures. ‘‘Let us do the things that the government asks us to do for the good of us all,’’ the pontiff said.
The renewed Italian efforts came as cases continued to spike across Europe, with France, Spain and Germany bearing the brunt of new cases. Many countries maintained tight controls on movement, with
Germany banning all gatherings of more than two people.
In France, the banks of the Seine and the grassy area at the foot of the Eiffel Tower were closed after joggers and walkers flocked there, while police stepped up checks on those leaving home without good reason.
Nearly 40,000 people have received €135 (NZ$257) spot-fines to date, with legislators voting to increase fines to €15,000 for those who offend twice in 15 days, rising to €37,000 for those who offend four times in 30 days.
In France, with 14,485 cases and 562 deaths now confirmed, some patients from the eastern border region of Alsace were moved to hospitals in Germany and Switzerland as the local healthcare system reached capacity.
In a show of EU solidarity that has been lacking at times during this crisis, four teaching hospitals and an army hospital in the south-western German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg are to take in 10 French patients requiring ventilation. Three Swiss cantons also volunteered six beds for overflow cases from Alsace, with Switzerland recording more than 7,014 cases and at least 60 deaths.
In France, doctors in the eastern cities of Mulhouse and Colmar have warned that the healthcare system is at breaking point, while in the southern city of Nice, a 10pm to 5am curfew was imposed. Doctors in Marseille say they are now treating patients with chloroquine. The government wants to wait for the results of trials of the anti- malarial, but the doctors say they are going ahead as they have found it to be effective in at least 75 per cent of cases.
Spain also extended already tough controls, with Pedro Sanchez, the premier, announcing that his government would ask parliament to extend a 15-day extension to this current state of emergency.
As the economic impact continued to bite, Sanchez called on the EU to launch a Marshall Planstyle public investment programme to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. Imposing the new restrictions, the Italian prime minister asked Italians to avoid panic buying, as seen in the last few days. ‘‘There is no need for racing or queuing. Supermarkets, pharmacies, post offices and banks will remain open,’’ Conte added.
Italy has been under an almost-total lockdown for about two weeks now, but local governors and mayors have criticised the government’s measures for not being sufficient. The Lombardy region has introduced the most stringent rules, banning all outdoor activities, open-air markets and all works on building sites, excluding only the essential ones.
In a sign of how serious the crisis has become, a government call for an additional task force of 300 doctors to help struggling hospitals and clinics received almost 8,000 responses.
Some 18 Italian doctors have died from the virus, with France announcing the first death of a medical worker from the disease last night. ‘‘We have been literally overwhelmed by the best of Italy: doctors of all ages, from 18 to 80-year-olds,’’ said Francesco Boccia, Italy’s minister for regional affairs.
Maggie De Block, Belgium’s health minister, expected restrictions to last for at least another eight weeks, while Greece announced a lockdown from today. Poland went ahead with six by-elections yesterday and plans to hold presidential elections on May 10 despite pressure to postpone the poll.
– Telegraph Group