Coronavirus: With over 1,000 dead and rising, the story of Italy's tragic battle with COVID-19 has shaken the world

Throughout Europe there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of people testing positive for coronavirus. Especially in Italy, there have been many reports of people testing positive that it has declared a lockdown. Public gatherings were banned, all football matches were suspended, bars, shops and restaurants were ordered to close and churches, galleries and museums remained shut.

The coronavirus outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China, has spread across the globe with 169,515 cases and 6,515 deaths. At least 77,753 patients have recovered so far. 

Coronavirus deaths in Italy rose by 368 overnight to bring the total to 1,809, while 24,747 people have tested positive. This shows an alarming increase in the number of cases who have passed away tragically due to the coronavirus.

A man recently posted a video wherein he shows the Italian newspaper’s obituaries section. On February 9, there was a page and a half of death notice published while on March 13, there were 10 pages dedicated to the obituaries section. 

Even with the lockdown, imposed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte earlier this month, there has been an alarming increase in the number of death cases, surpassing the death cases of China, where the virus emerged from in December.

As the numbers increased in Italy, it turned to the EU members to ask for medical supplies and equipment but that went in vain as no one responded. In fact, recently China sent in some masks and other equipment supplies in order to help Italy, Spain and Rome.  

This has sent the world into a worldwide panic about the seriousness of the coronavirus as just recently a video on Twitter had surfaced that the people from Italy were singing songs from their balconies as they were under lockdown and quarantined. They were trying to remain positive in a situation where most people would not. 

The tragedy of losing your loved ones and not being able to say a proper goodbye is one of the things that just the hardest things to live with. A council official claims that funerals are taking place in the country every half an hour. Giacomo Angeloni, in charge of cemeteries in Bergamo, said: 'We are facing an emergency there is no doubting that. We are having a burial every half an hour. We are using churches as temporary mortuaries’.

“The numbers have continued to grow. We’re close to the moment where we will have no more intensive care beds,” Lombardy governorAttilio Fontana said.

The Italians authorities have been working on setting up more intensive care beds in a specially created facility in an exhibition center but are waiting for sufficient respirators and qualified staff as they are short of it.