Italy has surpassed 100,000 deaths in the pandemic, a year after it became the first country in Europe to go into lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The Italian Health Ministry on Monday said 318 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 100,103, the second highest in Europe after Britain.
Italy recorded its first virus death on February 21 2020, when 78-year-old retired roofer Antonio Trevisan, from a winemaking town west of Venice who had been admitted to hospital with heart issues, died.
Italy’s total virus cases surpassed three million last week, with a new surge powered by the highly contagious variant that was first identified in Britain.
Nearly 14,000 new positives were recorded on Monday as the number of people in ICUs rose to 2,700 – 95 more than a day earlier.
Italy imposed a draconian nationwide lockdown last March 9, which continued for seven weeks and included a shutdown of all non-essential manufacturing.
