Over 2,000 Italian health care workers have contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since the start of the outbreak, the head of the medical union Anaao Assomed Carlo Palermo told the ANSA news agency on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2020) Over 2,000 Italian health care workers have contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since the start of the outbreak, the head of the medical union Anaao Assomed Carlo Palermo told the ANSA news agency on Monday.
Palermo told the agency that this was a "frightful number, and this situation puts health facilities in further difficulties."
Italian health care services have come under increasing strain as the country has become the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe.
The agency reported on Monday that protective masks for intensive care unit personnel in the province of Lombardy are set to run out in just two days' time.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government announced plans on March 7 to immediately enroll up to 20,000 new doctors and nurses to tackle the ongoing outbreak, which has killed more than 1,800 people as of 18:00 local time [17:00 GMT] on Sunday, an increase of 368 in the preceding 24 hours.
Only China, where the disease originated, has confirmed more COVID-19 cases than Italy. On Sunday, the Italian Ministry of Health reported 24,747 cases of the disease since the start of the outbreak. A total of 2,335 people have recovered from the disease in the Mediterranean country.
