Nearly 800 die in Italy in a day
Global coronavirus cases rocketed past 300,000 Saturday, and Italy recorded nearly 800 deaths in a single day as leaders around the world continued to urge citizens to stay home to halt the pandemic.
Italy logged 793 deaths in 24 hours, prompting Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte to declare that all Italian businesses, except those considered “essential,” remain closed until April 3.
“It is the most difficult crisis in our post-war period,” Conte said.
The country has more than 53,500 cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center which is tracking the spread of the disease.
The grim tally comes just two days after Italy surpassed China in pandemic-related deaths. China’s death toll topped 3,200, with more than 81,000 people infected since the pandemic began.
While the virus raged around the world, China rerouted some flights away from Beijing to prevent imported COVID-19 cases inside its borders.
With no new infections reported in people who stayed in China during the outbreak, the country’s strict lockdown began to ease, with many citizens returning to parks in cities across the country.
In a bid to counter criticism of its early handling of the pandemic, China began exporting medical supplies, including masks, gloves and testing kits.
Worldwide, coronavirus deaths have reached nearly 13,000.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson shuttered pubs, theaters, gyms and cinemas, promising to review the measure monthly.
The British government said it would pay 80 percent of wages for employees or up to the equivalent of $2,900 per month.
Johnson’s more decisive efforts to contain his country’s COVID-19 outbreak apparently came after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would cut travel between the two nations if the UK didn’t act, according to a report.
In Australia, Sydney police dispersed thousands of sunworshippers who had flocked to Bondi Beach, turning the normally-packed oceanside park into a virtual ghost town.
“What we saw here this morning in Bondi Beach was the most irresponsible behavior of individuals that we’ve seen so far,” said David Elliott, police minister for New South Wales. The country has registered 1,071 cases and seven deaths.
In Spain, which has recorded nearly 25,000 cases and more than 1,300 deaths, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez admitted Saturday night the pandemic is rising steadily and the risk was “everywhere.”
“The worst is yet to come,” Sanchez said. “We have yet to receive the impact of the strongest, most damaging wave, which will test our material and moral capacities to the limit, as well as our spirit as a society.”