Italy’s death toll tops 10,000 in a Europe divided by virus

Bloomberg

Italy’s coronavirus death toll topped 10,000 and Spain posted record fatalities, signalling that lockdowns in Europe won’t be lifted anytime soon while its leaders split along economic fault lines.
Deaths in Italy slowed to 889 from a record 969 on March 27 and the 5,974 new infections were similar to the previous day’s level. Spain suffered another 832 deaths. Almost 15,000 coronavirus victims — more than half the world’s total — have died in the two countries, which are in almost total lockdown except for essential errands such as buying food and medicine.
The data suggest that while the pace of new infections may be leveling off, the human carnage and economic damage aren’t letting up for now.
“We’re getting to the peak,” Fernando Simon, a Spanish health ministry spokesman, told reporters. “In some parts of the country, we’re probably already over it. But we need to be cautious since we’re talking about preliminary data.”
Italy, which has the pandemic’s highest death toll, is set to extend drastic containment measures until mid-April and will more than double the financial stimulus for its paralysed economy. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and French President Emmanuel Macron are advocating a joint European Union response, exposing an EU rift dating back to the euro-area debt crisis.
“We won’t overcome this crisis without strong European solidarity, both on the health front and on the budget front,” Macron said in an interview with Italian newspapers. “The amount is secondary. It’s the signal that matters, be it via joint debt or a common budget.”
Such proposals are facing German-led resistance. Chancellor Angela Merkel said she prefers to deploy the European Stability Mechanism, a rescue fund set up during the debt
crisis.
“If Europe isn’t capable of rising to the challenge, the whole European project risks losing legitimacy in the eyes of our citizens,” Conte told Il Sole 24 Ore in a separate interview.

Supermarket Chaos
Signs of unrest and economic distress are on the rise. Police are patrolling outside supermarkets in Palermo, Sicily, after one of them was raided by people who refused to pay for their shopping, according to media reports.
Conte is set to prolong Italy’s restrictions for two weeks beyond April 3, though minimal exceptions for companies are being discussed, Corriere della Sera reported. Italy’s economic output is set to shrink by 6.5 percentage points in 2020, according to research group Prometeia.
The lockdown may be working, with the number of new cases stabilising and many of the fatilities among people who contracted virus before or at the outset of the lockdown, said Lorenzo Pregliasco, co-founder of pollster YouTrend.
”Italy’s virus trend shows the curve is now fully in its linear phase and no longer exponential, with a daily increase in total cases of around 7%,” he said in a phone interview. “The number of deaths, very high even on March 28, however refers reasonably to people who contracted the infection at least 10 or 15 days ago. Italy’s crisis response could increase to as much as 100 billion euros ($111 billion), Deputy Finance Minister Laura Castelli told La Stampa. That compares with 300 billion euros and 750 billion euros mobilised by France and Germany, respectively.
Merkel said on March 28 there’s little chance that German restrictions would ease before April 20. Cases in Europe’s biggest economy are doubling every 5 1/2 days, she said.
“The number of new infections doesn’t give reason to ease the rules,” Merkel said in her weekly podcast.

Makeshift Morgues
The outbreak is stretching healthcare system across Europe. Madrid has set up a temporary hospital in the Spanish capital’s main conference centre and is using an ice rink as a temporary morgue.
In the UK, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson has contracted the virus, London’s Excel convention centre will be converted into a hospital and new treatment hubs are planned for Birmingham and Manchester.