Italy reports most coronavirus deaths in single day at 368
A man wearing a protective mask on an empty Rialto Bridge on Sunday with an unprecedented lockdown across of all Italy imposed to slow the outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice, Italy, March 15, 2020. (Reuters Photo)


Italy reported 368 new coronavirus fatalities on Sunday in its daily bulletin, the largest death toll increase since the start of the outbreak on Feb. 20.

Compared to Saturday, the death toll has risen by more than 25% to 1,809, and infections were up by 17% to reach 24,747. The fatality rate, particularly high in Italy, is 7.3%.

The number of patients in intensive care – a closely watched figure given the shortage of hospital beds in frontline regions – rose by about 10%, to 1,672, including 767 in Lombardy.

Lombardy, which surrounds Milan, is the region worst hit by the outbreak, with 13,272 cases and 1,218 deaths. In Lazio, the region that includes Rome, cases increased by 22% to 436.