Italy suffered the deadliest single day since the coronavirus outbreak began three months ago in China, as the number of its deaths jumped by 919 people in 24 hours.
The country has the highest death toll of any country, with 9,134 fatalities, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Department. The nation also surpassed China on Friday to take second place behind the United States with the most infections: 86,498 cases.
China recorded its highest single-day death toll of 150 on February 23, according to its National Health Commission.
Italian authorities have been hoping that aggressive lockdown measures taken in the country more than two weeks ago would start to yield conclusive results. But the data have been mixed, with the number of deaths and new infections each day this week fluctuating.
