Coronavirus deaths fall again in Italy but lockdown extension looms

ROME (ITNTV) - The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy fell for the second consecutive day on Sunday but the country still looked almost certain to see an extension of stringent containment measures.

The Civil Protection department said 756 people had died in the last day, bringing the total to 10,779 - more than a third of all deaths from the virus worldwide.

There were 133 fewer deaths than the 889 deaths reported on Saturday, when the numbers fell from a record high of 919 on Friday.

While the total number of confirmed cases rose to 97,689 on Sunday from a previous 92,472, it was the lowest daily rise in new cases since Wednesday.

But despite hopes by Italian officials that the downward trend would continue, it appeared increasingly likely that restrictions on all but essential activities that were due to expire on Friday would be soon officially extended.

“The measures that were due to expire on April 3 inevitably will be extended,” Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia told Sky TG24 television.

He said the timing would be decided by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the government based on data from the medical and scientific community.

“I think that it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to talk of re-opening (schools and production sites),” Boccia said.

Italian media have reported that the extension could last for a further two weeks until about April 18.

Italy’s sports minister said on Sunday he would propose banning all sports events, including soccer matches, for the whole of April.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza asked Italians not to let the guard down.

“We would erase all the efforts made so far to rein in contagion. The sacrifices of the last weeks are serious,” he told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

The daily deaths in the northern region of Lombardy, the area that has borne the brunt of the emergency, were down sharply from Saturday’s tally.

Slideshow (2 Images)

“There isn’t an exponential rise in the data anymore, showing that what has been done is giving results,” said Danilo Cereda, an official from the Lombardy regional government.

But Giulio Gallera, the top health official in the northern region of Lombardy, said Italians had to acknowledge that they would have to live “in a different way in the coming months”.

More than 662,700 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 30,751 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Comments

European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel to fight coronavirus

Madrid (ITNTV) The European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel as it attempts to contain the ongoing spread of the coronavirus on the continent. "The less travel, the more we can contain the virus," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday following a video conference between G7 leaders. She appeared confident that the European Council would sign off on the restriction in a Tuesday vote. The bloc's member states imposed aggressive measures on Monday, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) said Europe was at the epicenter of the pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron declared "war" on the virus during a national address on Monday, banning all social events across the country -- including family gatherings. Macron said those who have gathered in public places in recent days have not been respecting previous measures to limit the outbreak's spread in France, which as of Monday had 5,380 con...

PhD positions: In Institute of Biochemistry, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany

PhD positions: In Institute of Biochemistry, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany 🇩🇪 . Subjects: Neurobiology / Imaging Description: 1 PhD position in Neurobiology / Imaging Prof. Britta Qualmann, Inst. of Biochem. I, UKJ - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany Prof. Christian Geis, Section of Translat. Neuroimmunol., Dept. Neurol., UKJ We seek for a productive addition to our research team in a collaborative project. We plan to study pathomechanisms of synaptic changes underlying autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system applying super-resolution microscopy. The Geis lab examines immune-mediated changes of synapses by interactions with pathogenic human antibodies against neuronal proteins. Short- and long-term effects on neuronal networks are analyzed using electrophysiological and various microscopy methods. The Qualmann lab is an internationally well-known lab that focusses on proteins with the power to s...

80 pct of life stopped in Turkey due to outbreak, says interior minister

Turkish citizens, especially those living in metropolises, have been abiding by the “social isolation” principles laid out by the government, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has said, adding that almost 80 percent of life “stopped” in Turkey . “Up until now, just our ministry issued 38 circulars, 17 of which concern the borders. Many high-level precautions have been taken. Right now, 80 percent of life stopped in Turkey,” Soylu said on March 26 in an interview with a private broadcaster. Soylu also provided updated figures for passenger traffic. He said that there is a 73 percent decline in inter-city bus services, adding that these services can also be suspended if needed. On intra-city traffic, Soylu said that there has been an 80 percent decline. This figure was 65 percent according to another interview the minister held on March 25. The government has four cruxes it predicates on when taking measures against the spread of the novel coronaviru...

Infotainment News TV

Search This Blog