On Thrusday, Italy surpassed China as the country with the most coronavirus deaths, according to officials. The country reported 427 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thus bringing its total to 3,405, as per a report by Reuters. The total number of people infected has reached 41,035. The number of cases has increased by 14.9 percent faster than over the past three days, the Civil Protection Agency said.

More than 5,000 people infected in Italy have since recovered. The majority of those who have died from the virus has been the elderly or have suffered from underlying medical conditions.

the increase in positve COVID 19 cases has led to the country planning to rush 10,000 student doctors, who are set to graduate this year, into the medical field to help without taking the mandatory final exams.

The Italian education minister announced that schools in Italy are likely to remain closed beyond April 3. It is an attempt by the government to further limit contact among citizens to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Schools and universities have been closed since March 5.

The schools would reopen only when there would be “certainty of absolute safety”. The end of the school year would depend on how well online lessons would go in coming weeks.

Also read: Online classes amidst coronavirus outbreak