Italy Virus Death Toll Tops 30k

By Staff, Agencies

The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy now exceeded 30,000, officials said on Friday.

The country's Civil Protection Agency said that 30,201 people had died of the virus, 243 more than on Thursday.

Italy is the second European country after the United Kingdom to see more than 30,000 COVID-19 deaths.

The pandemic has killed more than 270,000 people worldwide since it began in China late last year, with more than 85 percent of fatalities in Europe and the United States, according to tallies compiled from official figures.

In total, 270,927 deaths have been reported across the globe from 3,877,772 confirmed cases.

Europe is the most affected continent with 153,367 deaths and 1,678,485 cases. The United States is the country with the most deaths at 75,781, followed by Britain with 31,241, Italy 30,201, Spain 26,299 and France 25,987.