Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, killed 627 people in Italy between Thursday and Friday, the world’s highest death toll from the coronavirus in one day.
Authorities announced that at least 4,032 have now died in Italy from COVID-19 compared with 3,248 in mainland China where the virus was first reported late last year.
Italy’s total confirmed coronavirus infections skyrocketed to 47,021 on Friday, a jump of 15% from the day before.
Despite a nationwide quarantine or lockdown imposed on Match 10, 2020, Italy’s large number of elderly people in their 70s and 80s have been the hardest hit.
The measures have included shutting down all non essential services and ordering people to stay home except for work or health necessities.
Reports said Italy was now considering more drastic measures to stem the spread of the virus.
![General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on February 6, 2020 [Twitter]](https://i2.wp.com/todaynewsafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Abdel-Fattah-Al-BurhanEQJPGmuU4AEVkRG.jpeg?resize=390%2C220&ssl=1 "General Abdel Fattah AlBurhan on February 6 2020 Twitter • Today News Africa")