Italy’s reported death toll from the coronavirus has topped the one reported by China, where the virus is believed to have originated.
The country announced on Thursday that its death toll jumped by 427 in one day to 3,405, passing China’s stated death toll of 3,245, according to Reuters. The coronavirus was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. The virus was then found in the northern region of Italy on Feb. 21.
Italy is still far behind China in the number of reported infections. By Thursday afternoon, the nation had confirmed about 35,700 cases of the disease in the country, while China had reported nearly 81,200 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
China said that, of the newly infected reported on Thursday, none of them were local Chinese citizens and all had come from areas outside of China. The Chinese Communist Party celebrated the report as a significant milestone in the country’s fight against the virus.
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The Chinese government has taken significant criticism from U.S. officials and others for attempting to cover up the outbreak in its early stages while allowing those possibly infected to leave the country. China also reportedly punished doctors who attempted to warn the government and others of the new virus.
Italy is under total lockdown, which was declared by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in early March. Italian citizens are not allowed out of their houses without permission from the government or without a valid reason, such as picking up pharmaceuticals. The Italian government has shut down all businesses except pharmacies and grocery stores and put its society at an indefinite standstill while officials and experts try to stop the spread of the illness.
Hospitals, mortuaries, and crematoriums in Italy’s hardest-hit regions are all struggling to keep up with the influx of patients and dead from the coronavirus. Doctors have been forced to prioritize the treatment of patients, usually choosing to treat younger and healthier people before those who are older and with preexisting conditions.
