View of St. Peter’s square, Vatican City. (Credits: ANI)
NEW DELHI: Crossing more borders, the new coronavirus hit a milestone Friday, infecting more than 100,000 people worldwide as it wove itself deeper into the daily lives of millions, infecting the powerful, the unprotected poor and the vast masses in between. Officially known as COVID-19, the virus has killed nearly 3,400 people worldwide.
The 100,000 figure of global infections is largely symbolic but dwarfs other major outbreaks in recent decades. SARS, MERS and Ebola affected far fewer people but had higher mortality rates.
Here is a look at top developments:
Italy reports 49 more deaths; total at 197
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has risen by 49 to 197 on Friday, the largest daily increase in fatalities since the contagion was uncovered two weeks ago. The cumulative number of cases in the country, which has been hardest hit by the virus in Europe, totalled 4,636 against 3,858 on Thursday. Authorities said that of those originally infected, 523 had fully recovered versus 414 the day before.
Virus breaches Vatican walls
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the first case of coronavirus at the city-state that is home to the pope. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said non-emergency medical services at the Vatican have been closed for sanitizing. More details on the identity of the person testing positive were not made availabl