Italy's 4,825 Deaths Out Pace China And UK Could Face Worse

Sitting in her Italian hospital bed fighting coronavirus, frail Daniela De Rosa issues an emotional plea to those still ignoring advice to stay home as the disease runs riot.

- Hanna Roberts And Dan Warburton

With exhausted medical staff struggling to cope around her, the 43-year-old vet told how she went from a healthy individual to a virtual wreck relying on a ventilator to keep her alive.

Daniela spoke as Italy yesterday reported its biggest one-day leap in deaths – at 793. It brings the total of those killed by the virus in the country to 4,825. There are now 53,578 cases with 6,557 coming in just 24 hours.

TSUNAMI And Britain has been warned by Milan

professor Davide Manca we face a “tsunami” of cases overwhelming the struggling NHS if action is not taken.

Since the outbreak started the UK now has a faster trajectory of daily deaths than Italy, with ours at 45% compared to its current 18% – which has fallen from 35%.

Daniela has been in quarantine at a Naples hospital with viral pneumonia for days. In a video she made begging people to stay at home, she said: “This ventilator has been my best friend. It saved my life.

“Before this I was in perfect health, now I’m fighting for my life. So many haven’t respected the rules and put at risk the lives of others. I want you to see me and look in my eyes and see the suffering of those who have to fight this virus.”

Daniela’s only contact is a daily medical check and meals served through a grate.

The death toll in Italy has been so rapid it has outpaced that of China, where the outbreak started last year.