ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2020) Italy's mortality rate increased by almost 39 percent in the period from February 20 to March 31, compared with the same periods of previous years, due to the spread of the coronavirus infection, the president of the Italian Institute for Statistics (Istat), Gian Carlo Blangiardo, said on Friday.
Speaking at a press conference organized by the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) in Rome, Blangiardo noted that slightly more than half of this increase resulted from the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the professor, the number of Italians who died from February 20, when the European country registered its first coronavirus-related death, to March 31 increased by more than 25,000. At the same time, female COVID-19 patients suffered less than males.
According to Blangiardo, the data was obtained by analyzing the situation in almost 7,000 Italian cities. The head of Istat assured that it was "a reasonable sample, which allowed to obtain the fullest possible picture."
The Istat and ISS have previously released a joint report on the mortality situation from February 20 to March 31. It indicated that between 2015-2019, the number of deaths in Italy averaged 65,000, whereas this year it almost reached 91,000.
According to the report, 13,700 excess deaths were COVID-19 related, that is, 54 percent of the increase in mortality.
So far, Italy's coronavirus death toll stands at over 30,000 fatalities with 217,185 active cases.
