Coronavirus Kills 475 People in Italy in One Day Pushing Country’s Health Care System to Brink of Collapse

Italy on Wednesday recorded the highest one-day death toll of any nation since the coronavirus outbreak began: 475 deaths.

As of Wednesday, the coronavirus had infected more than 35,700 people and killed nearly 3,000 people in Italy.

Even at the peak of China’s outbreak, its highest single-day death toll was 150, on February 23.

Italy reported 475 deaths from the coronavirus in one day, its civil-protection agency said on Wednesday.

That’s the highest death toll reported in one day by any country since the coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, late last year.

Iran and Spain, both struggling with large outbreaks, have not recorded more than 200 deaths in a single day.

It is the worst-hit nation outside Asia, second only to China, where many people have recovered and the daily death toll has slowed dramatically.

Globally, the number of coronavirus cases has surpassed 212,000, and the number of deaths is at more than 8,700.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte put the entire country of 60 million people on lockdown on March 10. Only pharmacies and grocery stores remain open, and a 6 p.m. curfew is being enforced.

The European nation is home to an aging population that is particularly vulnerable to the virus, which causes an illness called COVID-19.

The coronavirus outbreak has brought the Italian healthcare system to the brink of collapse in a matter of weeks, with overloaded hospitals, a shortage of beds, and a lack of medical resources. That has forced medical workers to choose who to treat first.