Italy records lowest COVID-19 deaths in nearly 6 weeks; total toll at 26,384

In a somewhat positive trend, Italy has recorded the lowest daily-spike in the death toll with over 415 new fatalities in 24 hours, fewest since March 18, health officials confirmed in a statement. The numbers witnessed a dip from April 24, which was 420 deaths from the COVID-19 at the hospitals, according to figures from Italy’s Civil Protection Department. The deaths have surged the toll to 26,384, while total confirmed cases stand at 195,351.  

On March 10, Italy imposed a nationwide confinement measure to stem the transmission rate, and on the sixth consecutive day in the week this month, Italy witnessed “the lowest” decline in cases since the outbreak, as per media reports. Further, the number of patients under the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or on the ventilators was an all-time low. 

In a televised press conference, Chief Commissioner for the Coronavirus Emergency Domenico Arcuri said that the battle against the deadly coronavirus would depend on the “citizens’ co-operation". He added that the compliance to protocols once the national lockdown lifted on May 3 was the key to winning this battle. However, the Mediterranean region remains under speculation about whether citizens will be able to resume businesses for the first time since the pandemic hit in March. 

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'Nothing will change'

Second to the United States in the death toll, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's office told the local media that "nothing will change", a news agency reported. But some officials were contrary to the leader’s opinion about the lockdown, for instance, Deputy Health Minister Pierpaolo Sileri told the press conference, “We must give citizens greater freedom of movement.” Conte posted on Facebook explaining that “only some activities” will be allowed to resume as of May 4 "according to a well-structured programme that balances the need to protect people's health with the need to resume production". 

On controversial opinion, heads of Milan's hardest-hit Lombardy and Venice's Veneto regions reportedly warned the PM Conte that the regions might have to soon resume businesses “on their own”. "We either close everything and die waiting for the virus to go away, or we reopen and live," Veneto governor Luca Zaia said. An Italian daily, La Repubblica, estimated that at least 11.5 million Italians were stripped out of jobs due to the lockdown and had no means of income. 

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Read: Italy To Ease Lockdown After May 4, Give Free Masks

(With Agency Inputs)