Italy's Covid-19 toll surges to nearly 3,000

Rome, March 18 Coronavirus-ravaged Italy, which had recorded 300 plus deaths for three days running from Sunday, on Wednesday hit a new high of 475 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The latest deaths have taken the toll in the country, the worst-affected in Europe and second globally after epicentre China, to 2,978, while the total number of confirmed cases rose to 35,713 from 31,506 a day earlier, the BBC reported.

Italy had reported 345 deaths in the past 24 hours on Tuesday, after 349 on Monday and 368 on Sunday.

( With inputs from IANS )