Italy mourns COVID-19 victims as pandemic claims over 12,000 lives

Italy on Tuesday observed a minute of silence for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic as their numbers rose above 12,000.

Speaking during a nightly televised press conference, Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli confirmed that there were 2,107 new active coronavirus infections compared to Monday, bringing the nationwide total to 77,635 cases.

Of those infected, 28,192 are hospitalized, 4,023 are in intensive care and 45,420 are isolated at home, Borrelli said. He added that there were 1,109 additional recoveries compared to Monday, bringing that total to 15,729.

The death toll on Tuesday was 837, raising the tally to 12,428 since the pandemic first broke out in northern Italy on Feb. 21.

The overall number — combining active cases, deaths, and recoveries — climbed to 105,792, up from a total of 101,739 on Monday.

• Confirmed COVID-19 cases hit 25,150 in UK

National Institute of Health (ISS) President Silvio Brusaferro said at a press conference earlier in the day that the upward curve of the rate of the pandemic seems to be leveling off.

“It appears we are reaching a kind of plateau, which means our (isolation and containment) measures are working,” Brusaferro said in reference to an ongoing national lockdown and strict quarantine measures.

“Reaching the plateau does not mean we’ve conquered the peak and the fight is over, but that we must begin the descent,” Brusaferro continued. “And the descent can begin if we continue paying maximum attention to how we behave and what we do on a daily basis.”

Flags flew at half-mast throughout the country as Italian President Sergio Mattarella, the cabinet led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, both houses of Parliament, mayors from north to south, public broadcaster RAI, and the Vatican observed a minute of silence at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, mourning the victims and showing solidarity with doctors and nurses fighting the pandemic.