COVID-19 batters Italy as lockdown deadline nears

A staff member cleans the stairs in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Rome, Italy, March 29 ,2020. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to claim victims in Italy as the deadline for the end of the government's national lockdown drew closer and experts warned it is too soon to lift restrictions. The death toll was 889 on Saturday, pushing the total to 10,023 fatalities since the pandemic first broke out in northern Italy on Feb. 21. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)