Italy’s coronavirus death toll passes the 100,000 mark

Italy’s coronavirus death toll passed the 100,000 mark on Monday and Prime Minister Mario Draghi warned that the situation was worsening again with a jump in hospitalizations, Reuters reported.

Italy is the seventh country in the world to reach the bleak milestone, following the US, Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia and Britain.

The Health Ministry said 318 new deaths from the disease had been recorded in the past 24 hours bringing the total tally since the epidemic hit the country 13 months ago to 100,103, Reuters reported.

It took nine months for Italy to register its first 50,000 deaths, and just 3-1/2 months to double it.

Infections rose 23 percent last week by comparison with the week before and health officials have warned that the country faces a fresh surge of cases as a more contagious variant of the disease, first detected in Britain, gains ground.

Draghi acknowledged that the situation was deteriorating, but said his government was going to “significantly step up” its vaccination campaign.