A CORONAVIRUS patient with no underlying health conditions has reportedly died in Italy.
The patient was a GP from the region of Lombardy, the first part of the country to be locked down amid the crisis.
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The vast majority of those dying from the virus have been older patients and those with underlying health conditions, particularly any that cause respiratory problems or undermine the immune system.
The news follows the death of "fit and healthy" paramedic Diego Bianco on Saturday, just two days after he was diagnosed with the virus.
Bianco, who had been working to help victims of the pandemic, also in Lombardy, died at 46 in his family home in the town of Montello.
He was discovered by his wife having suffered a heart attack after going to lie down.
Italy has been among the country's worst hit by the outbreak, with more than 31,000 cases and 2,500 deaths confirmed so far.
Doctors this week warned of a "catastrophic" situation developing in the health system.
They described patients who would normally be in intensive care having to be left on wards without the equipment or staff to properly treat them.
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Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Mirco Nacoti, an intensive care specialist at a Lombardy hospital, said: "Until three weeks ago, we did everything for every patient.
"Now we have to choose which patients to put in intensive care. This is catastrophic."
Referencing the situation in Italy at a press conference last night, prime minister Boris Johnson said: "Every country in the world has the same.
"This is a disease that is so dangerous and so infectious that, without drastic measures to check its progress, it would overwhelm any health system in the world.
"I've used the Italian health system. It is excellent.
"And the problem is not with the health systems. It's the numbers of sufferers."
He added: "We must stop the disease spreading to the point where it overwhelms our NHS."
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