Italy sees sharp drop in new coronavirus cases

Italy sees sharp drop in new coronavirus cases with 3,599 in the last day – the lowest rise in nearly three weeks – but daily deaths climb by more than 100

  • Italy has recorded increases in cases in the range 4,050 to 6,557 since March 17
  • However, there were another 636 deaths today, compared by rise of 525 Sunday
  • Italy now has a death toll of 16,523, the highest in the world
  • But there have been promising signs its lockdown since March 9 is turning tide

Italy today saw a sharp drop in new coronavirus cases with 3,599 recorded, the lowest rise in nearly three weeks, but daily deaths climbed by another 100.

Rome tallied another 636 deaths on Monday, compared with a rise of 525 yesterday, bringing its total death toll to 16,523, the highest in the world. 

The total number of confirmed cases increased by 3,599 to 132,547, the lowest daily rise since March 17, underscoring hopes that the illness might be on the retreat thanks to a nationwide lockdown introduced on March 9.

Before Monday, daily increases since March 17 had all been in a range of 4,050 to 6,557. 

Police officers and soldiers patrol streets in Venice to enforce a nationwide lockdown of Italy that has been in force since March 10

Of those originally infected, 22,837 were declared recovered on Monday against 21,815 a day earlier. There were 3,898 people in intensive care, down 79 on Sunday – a third successive daily decline. 

More than 50,000 patients infected with coronavirus have now died across Europe, figures have revealed.

Almost 700,000 cases have been recorded across the continent, with Italy, Spain and Germany the three hardest-hit nations.

But outbreaks among the countries appear to have plateaued, with Italy yesterday recording its lowest daily death toll (525) since March 20.

Spain today announced its lowest daily toll since March 24 (637), while Germany announced just 92 fatalities – the fewest in a week.

More than 37,000 deaths have been recorded between Italy (15,877), Spain (13,055) and France (8,078).

A graph showing the daily total of deaths from coronavirus in Italy during the coronavirus crisis up until April 5, when it fell sharply

A graph showing the number of new coronavirus infections per day in Italy up until April 5, showing that it has been steadily falling

In comparison, Germany has only recorded 1,434 deaths among its 90,000 cases – because of its aggressive policy to test anyone with symptoms.

Many European countries, such as the UK, controversially resorted to just testing patients in hospital, potentially missing millions of cases.

Germany saw sharp falls in both its daily death toll and its new infection count today, offering fresh hope that the coronavirus lockdown there is working.

The number of infections rose by 3,677 – the smallest since March 22 – to bring the overall tally from 91,714 to 95,391.

Meanwhile the death toll jumped by only 92, the lowest in a week, taking the total from 1,342 to 1,434.

Police officers patrol the waters of Venice’s grand canal which has been on lockdown for almost a month in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus

People line-up to get medical masks that are being distributed by the Chinese state-owned State Grid electrical company in Milan

The resulting fatality rate of 1.5 per cent remains lower than many of Germany’s neighbours, although it has risen every day for more than two weeks.

The two southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg – closest to Italy – have been hardest hit, accounting for 824 of the 1,434 deaths between them.

Elsewhere, Spain today recorded 637 new coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours – the fourth straight day that number has fallen and the lowest since March 24.

The figure raises the total killed during the country’s crisis from 12,418 to 13,055. The number of new infections increased by 4,273 from 130,759 to 135,032.

It marks a 3.3 per cent rise in new cases and a 5.1 per cent rise in new deaths, the lowest rate of increase since lockdown measures were announced on March 14.

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