Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte addresses the Senate, in Rome, Italy, March 26, 2020. Giuseppe Conte on Thursday reported to the Senate on his government's actions to date and to describe future measures to counteract the economic fallout from the virus. Earlier this month, the government approved a 25-billion-euro package for the national healthcare system, workers, families and the business sector. Conte told the Senate that his government is at work on a new package "with additional allocations of no less than the 25 billion (euros) we have already allocated." (Xinhua)
ROME, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The coronavirus pandemic continued to advance in locked-down Italy on Thursday, bringing the combined number of infections, fatalities and recoveries to 80,539 cases, according to the latest count released by the Civil Protection Department (CPD).
Speaking during a nightly televised press conference, CPD Director General Agostino Miozzo confirmed that there were 4,492 new coronavirus infections compared to Wednesday, bringing the nationwide total of active infection cases to 62,013.
Of those infected, 33,648 are under house isolation, 24,753 are in ordinary hospital wards and 3,612 are hospitalized in intensive care units.
He added that there were 999 recoveries compared to Wednesday, bringing that total to 10,361.
The death toll on Thursday stood at 662, bringing the total to 8,165 fatalities since the pandemic first broke out in northern Italy on Feb. 21.
The numbers are up from an official tally on Wednesday evening of 57,521 infected, 7,503 deaths and 9,362 recoveries.
Miozzo also confirmed that CPD Chief Angelo Borrelli has tested negative for the virus, and that Italian citizens have so far donated over 52 million euros (57.4 million U.S. dollars) to the CPD to fight the emergency.
TERRIBLE DAYS
Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte reported to the Senate on his government's actions to date and to describe future measures to counteract the economic fallout from the virus.
"These are terrible days for our national community," Conte began, addressing senators sitting one seat apart and wearing face masks.
"We never would have thought that in our country we would one day see images of army trucks loaded with the coffins of our fellow citizens," he said in reference to some cities whose dead from coronavirus had to be transported elsewhere by the military because their morgues were overloaded beyond capacity.
"For the first time since World War II, we have been forced to place limits on some of the fundamental liberties guaranteed by our Constitution," Conte said in reference to government decrees restricting citizens' movements.
"The government is fully aware that the COVID-19 pandemic ... also requires a significant economic response," the prime minister continued.
Earlier this month, the government approved a 25-billion-euro package for the national healthcare system, workers, families and the business sector.
Conte told the Senate that his government is at work on a new package "with additional allocations of no less than the 25 billion (euros) we have already allocated."
The prime minister said that "the emergency is also showing us the need to safeguard our strategically important industries."
"Our country's most precious assets must be protected by every means necessary, and we will work in this direction beginning with our next regulatory measure in April," said Conte.
He added that in order to relaunch Italy's economy, "public and private investments in environmental sustainability and the digital transformation of our country remain absolutely central."
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic looks set to cast a long shadow in broader economic terms.
Standard & Poor's Global Ratings said in a statement on Thursday that "the eurozone and the UK (United Kingdom) are facing recessions" and that "we now expect gross domestic product (GDP -- in the eurozone and the UK) to fall around two percent this year due to economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic," representing a loss of 420 billion euros in real GDP in 2020 "compared with our forecast from November 2019."
However, the "risks are still to the downside, as the pandemic might last longer and be more widespread than we currently envisage. For example, we estimate a lockdown of four months could lower eurozone GDP by up to 10 percent this year," S&P analysts wrote. (1 euro = 1.10 U.S. dollar)
