After a rise of 427 deaths in the last 24 hours, Italy has officially exceeded China in the number of coronavirus-related deaths, reaching a total of 3,405.
The death toll in Italy rose to 3,405 after recording 475 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday and an additional 427 deaths on Thursday.
China has reported 3,245 deaths since the virus emerged late last year. However, Italy has fewer confirmed cases – 41,035 as of Thursday compared to 80,907 in China.
Globally, nearly 220,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed, with over 8,800 deaths and at least 84,000 recoveries, according to data from Johns Hopkins University in the US.