Coronavirus Updates: Italy Reports 650 Cases And 17 Deaths
Source: npr
February 27, 20201:36 PM ET
Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET
Italy's number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases spiked by more than 50% in just 24 hours and now stands at 650, the Italian Ministry of Health says, adding that 17 people have died from the respiratory virus. More than 400 of the cases are in the hard-hit Lombardy region, where some towns are under a lockdown.
Nearly 250 of the people who were infected are currently in the hospital, including 56 patients who are in intensive care, the Italian ministry says, citing a Thursday afternoon update from Angelo Borrelli, commissioner for the coronavirus emergency. Another 284 people who have been infected are in home isolation to try to stop the coronavirus from spreading further.
The outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy led the U.S. State Department to add concerns about the virus to its travel advisory for Italy this week. The advisory stands at Level 2: "exercise increased caution" one level short of "reconsider travel."
Alarmed by the virus's potential impact on its economy, Italy's government is urging foreign media to reassure people around the world that it's safe to visit Italy.
"Tourism is already taking a big hit, with a surge in hotel cancellations," NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome, "and several American study-abroad programs have shut down.".........................
Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/27/809984502/coronavirus-update-japan-is-closing-all-its-schools-for-a-month
These waiters must be bored silly.
Waiters stand by an empty restaurant in Venice's St. Mark's Square, which would normally be full of tourists, as a coronavirus outbreak grows in Italy.
Manuel Silvestri/Reuters
MontanaMama
(23,219 posts)cstanleytech
(26,026 posts)with the highest number of deaths occurring in countries where access is restricted.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,266 posts)2% seems like a small percentage, but the body count could be immense.
Hopefully a vaccine will be discovered, produced, and made affordable.
MontanaMama
(23,219 posts)It is higher than influenza and that is and ought to be a concern...as is the fact that covid19 is killing young healthy people.
BigmanPigman
(51,368 posts)revelers swarming all over the place. Instead it is a ghost town. A month or so ago it was flooded with record breaking rains and now this.
elias7
(3,974 posts)Otherwise, the mortality rate is going to be a bit higher.
bucolic_frolic
(42,478 posts)Italian medicine, like French, has often been on the cutting edge or care even when technology lagged.
helpisontheway
(5,002 posts)Im not sure which city. However, I hope he will be okay. He is young and very fit with no medical issues so he should be okay.
DownriverDem
(6,187 posts)planned in Italy in June. (Relative getting married) We are freaking out and wonder if we should go. We don't want to be stuck there.