UK’s Death toll of 233 is exactly the same as Italy’s was two weeks ago today

THE UK IS NOW EXACTLY WHERE ITALY’S WAS TWO WEEKS AGO AS THE DEATH TOLL IN BRITAIN SURGES TO 233

The UK’s death toll hit 233 today, with Italy reaching this number on March 7, Italy has recorded almost 800 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours and almost 5,000 have now died in the country, meaning more have passed away there than in China, where the outbreak began.

Today, Italy’s fatalities jumped by 793 to 4,825 in the country’s largest one-day rise since the contagion emerged a month ago.

The latest official figures released on Saturday showed the number of people across the UK who have died after testing positive for Covid-19 has risen to 233, with 53 more deaths in England, two in Wales and one in Scotland.

Italy was at this stage just two weeks ago but has since overtaken China as the country with the most deaths after suffering a total of 4,825 fatalities.

“What we all understand is that no member state can face this threat alone. The virus has no borders and the European Union is stronger when we show full solidarity,” EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Reported infections in Italy rose to 53,578 from 47,021, the Civil Protection Agency said. There were 2,857 people in intensive care, up from 2,655.

Late on Friday, the EU Commission moved to formalise a deal reached by EU finance ministers on March 5 to suspend EU budget rules that limit borrowing, giving hardest-hit Italy and other governments a free hand to fight the disease.

Italy’s failure to reduce its huge debt of 134% of the gross domestic product would normally have drawn a rebuke from the EU executive, but von der Leyen said there were now other priorities.