Amid coronavirus pandemic, Italy marks highest annual death toll since World War II
- The hard-hit European nation recorded 746,146 total deaths in 2020, 15 per cent more than the average for the previous five years
- Italy has seen more than 3 million people infected with Covid-19, of whom close to 100,000 have died
The coronavirus pandemic has led to Italy seeing its highest annual death toll since World War II, as the statistics office ISTAT announced on Friday that it had recorded 746,146 deaths in 2020.
That is 15 per cent more than the average recorded for the years 2015 to 2019, ISTAT officials said in Rome.
After the first coronavirus wave hit the country of 60 million people at the end of February, excess mortality between March and December 2020 was also 20 per cent higher than the average recorded for the previous five years. That translates to more than 108,000 deaths.
Health authorities counted more than 24,000 new infections within 24 hours on Friday. That means there are now officially more than 3 million people who have been infected with the virus in Italy.
On Friday, 297 Covid-19-related deaths were added, taking the country close to 100,000 fatalities in total.
The situation is deteriorating sharply in many parts of Italy.