2021-02-23 05:36:00 GMT2021-02-23 13:36:00(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
ROME, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) A year ago, the first COVID-19-related death was announced in Italy, followed by nearly 100,000 more thereafter, as well as the most turbulent 12 months in Italy since the end of World War II.
The following weeks after the first reported death saw Europe s first regional peacetime lockdown in early March 2020 before its first national lockdown a few days later. Almost every day brought a grim new record for infections and deaths until the curves of new infections and deaths started to be flattened last May.
Two months after the first deaths were reported, the death toll surpassed 25,000 on April 22, 2020. A year later, the total death toll was just under 96,000, according to data from the Ministry of Health.