Chilling photos of Italy’s virus patients

Disturbing photos from hospitals in Italy show coronavirus victims lying facedown while being treated by doctors in hazmat suits.

Images from a hospital in Cremona, the epicentre of the outbreak in Italy’s north, show patients lying on hospital beds, being treated by medics in hazmat suits.
 

Some of the patients can be seen lying facedown, which researchers said may improve their survival chances in intensive care by providing more oxygen to the blood stream.
 

The hospital is in the quarantined region that was originally sealed off from the rest of the nation in a bid to stop the outbreak.

But the “red zone” has since gone nationwide, with Italian authorities announcing this morning that the whole country would be quarantined.

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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced restrictions on public gatherings would be extended to cover the whole country, rather than just the epicentre of the outbreak in the north.

“Restrictions will include banning all public gatherings and preventing all movement other than for work and emergencies,” Mr Conte said.

The restrictions will take effect on Tuesday and like those in northern Italy will last until April 3, he said.

“There won’t be just a red zone,” he told reporters, referring to the quarantine order he signed for a vast swath of northern Italy with a population of 16 million over the weekend.

Mr Conte said the country’s “night life” of young people gathering to drink and enjoy themselves would no longer be permitted.

“We can’t allow this anymore,” he said. Restaurants and cafes have also been ordered to close at dusk.

All sporting events, including Serie A, the nation’s top soccer league, have also been suspended. Schools and universities will also remain closed as part of the measures.

The country’s death toll now sits at 463, marking a 20 per cent increase in just 24 hours. 75 per cent of the deaths are aged between 70 and 89, with 13 per cent aged over 90, 10 per cent in their 60s and just 1 per cent in their 50s.

The total number of cases in Italy has risen to 9172, the largest daily increase since the virus first emerged there on February 11.