Italy overtakes UK for worst coronavirus death toll in Europe
- Italy among countries hit hardest by the pandemic, with more than 1.84 million cases since initial outbreak
- Country reported 484 virus-linked deaths on Sunday, raising the number of fatalities to 64,520
Italy has eclipsed Britain to become the nation with the worst official coronavirus death toll in Europe.
Italy, where the continent’s pandemic began, registered 484 Covid-19 deaths in one day on Sunday, one of its lowest one-day death counts in about a month.
Still, those latest deaths pushed Italy’s official toll up to 64,520, while Britain’s stood at 64,267, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Both numbers understate the true toll of the pandemic. Counting criteria differ in the two countries, and many coronavirus deaths, especially early in the pandemic, are believed to have gone undetected, including those of elderly people in nursing homes who were not tested for Covid-19.
Among the reasons cited for Italy’s high death toll was it that was the first country in Europe to be slammed in the pandemic, leaving health workers to grapple with a largely unknown virus. Italy also has a lower ratio of medical staff to patients compared to other European nations.
Germany, a nation much bigger than Italy, has a death toll one-third of Italy’s or Britain’s.