Italy death toll from coronavirus again hits biggest one-day high

Italy announced its largest single-day coronavirus death toll, the second time in two days it’s reached a new high-water mark.

Officials announced that 793 more people died from the coronavirus Saturday. The previous largest death toll in a single day was 627, which occurred Friday.

Italy this week leapfrogged China in coronavirus-related deaths. Italy now has more than 53,500 confirmed cases of the virus and is edging closer to 5,000 deaths with each passing day. However, China still has the highest number of confirmed cases.

The Italian government has been hammered for what critics say has been a slow response to the virus. The country is now on a complete lockdown, enforced by the military, and residents need to get written permission from the government to leave their homes. 

The situation in Italy, as well as several of its neighbors, prompted the Trump administration to ban all incoming travel from Europe, except for American citizens and legal residents.

The coronavirus has infected nearly 18,000 people and killed 239 in the U.S., according to The New York Times’s tally.