More than 100,000 have died of COVID-19 in Italy :: WRAL.com
MILAN — Italy surpassed 100,000 dead in the pandemic, a year after it became the first country in Europe to go on 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 Feb. 21, 2020, when 78-year-old retired roofer Antonio Trevisan from a winemaking town west of Venice who had been hospitalized with heart issues died.
Italy’s total virus cases surpassed 3 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 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.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— CDC: Fully-vaccinated people can gather without masks
— From vote to virus, misinformation campaign targets Latinos in US
— UK schools reopen widely, backed by frequent virus testing
— Russia finds its Sputnik V vaccine in hot demand overseas but questions arise over whether it can produce the millions of vaccine doses ordered
— Vaccine rollout offers hope but also prompts envy, judgement and distrust
Coronavirus vaccinations in NC
— Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver his first primetime address to speak to the nation on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that Biden would note the sacrifices and losses suffered by Americans during the last 12 months. More than 525,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus.
It was March 11, 2020 when the pandemic hit home for many Americans and lockdowns began. That was the night the NBA suspended play, actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announced they had tested positive and then-President Donald Trump addressed the nation.
The anniversary comes as the administration has bolstered vaccine supply, and some states have begun reopening even as worries remain about virus variants.
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BERLIN — A German lawmaker has resigned his seat immediately following pressure from fellow members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Union bloc in response to revelations that his company profited from deals to procure masks early in the pandemic.
Nikolas Loebel had originally said he would step down in August, shortly before Germany’s national election, but faced sustained criticism from party colleagues fearing a backlash from voters in two regional elections this weekend.
His resignation comes after a second Union bloc lawmaker, Georg Nuesslein, lost his parliamentary immunity amid a criminal investigation into whether he…
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