Italy passes China's coronavirus death toll

A total of 427 deaths were registered in Italy over the past 24 hours, bringing the total nationwide tally to 3,405 since the outbreak surfaced on Feb.

21.

China has recorded 3,245 deaths since early January.

This report produced by Chris Dignam.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Italy on Thursday overtook that of China, where the virus first emerged, making Italy’s outbreak the deadliest in the world and now the epicenter of the pandemic, as hospitals said they were being overwhelmed and the government prepared to prolong emergency lockdown measures.

(SOUNDBITE) (English dubbed Italian) NURSE FOR HOSPITAL IN MILAN, DANIELA CONFALONIERI, SAYING: "This is Daniela, in Milan..." One nurse at a hospital in Milan told Reuters on Thursday that the virus had pushed health workers to their limit.

(SOUNDBITE) (English dubbed Italian) NURSE FOR HOSPITAL IN MILAN, DANIELA CONFALONIERI, SAYING: "We’re working in a state of very high stress and tension.

Psychological tension has gone through the roof.

Unfortunately we can’t contain the situation in Lombardy, there’s a high level of contagion and we’re not even counting the dead any more." Lombardy, the heavily populated area around the financial capital of Milan, has been Italy's worst-affected region.

(SOUNDBITE) (English dubbed Italian) NURSE FOR HOSPITAL IN MILAN, DANIELA CONFALONIERI, SAYING: "Look at the news that’s coming out of Italy and take note of what the situation really is like.

It's unimaginable." In Cremona, southeast of Milan, Dr. Romano Paolucci, who came out of retirement to help at the city's hospital, says one of the hardest things for him is not so much watching people die.

It's watching them die alone.

(SOUNDBITE) (Italian) DOCTOR ROMANO PAOLUCCI SAYING: "The greatest problem which is emerging in these days, I would say is that the patients cannot be visited by their relatives and often die on their own.

We have started calling relatives on the phone to explain to them what is happening, so there is at least some contact." Underscoring the scale of the drama in Italy, soldiers transported bodies overnight from the town of Bergamo, northeast of Milan, whose cemetery has been overwhelmed.

An army spokesman said 15 trucks and 50 soldiers had been deployed to move coffins to neighboring provinces.

A total 427 deaths were registered in Italy over the past 24 hours, bringing the total nationwide tally to more than 3,400 in a country of roughly 60 million.

In China, the death toll reached 3,245 in a country of more than a billion.

China on Thursday also reported no new domestic transmissions for the first time, and has focused efforts to stop the spread on incoming travelers, amid concern about a second wave of infections from abroad.

Italy has proportionately more elderly people than China.

The older population, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, is seen as a major factor for Italy's high number of fatalities.

Italy went into virtual lockdown before other countries in Europe but, with cases still rising, the government is considering even tougher measures that would further restrict the limited amount of outdoor movement currently permitted.

U.S. health experts fear the United States is on a similar trajectory as Italy.

Nearly 9,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in the United States.

Health officials said more than 3,000 of them are in New York.

Later on Thursday, the U.S. State Department raised its travel alert to the highest level yet for the entire world, urging Americans not to go anywhere overseas and for those "In countries where commercial departure options remain available, U.S. citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period."