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China sends team of medical experts, gear to help Italy fight coronavirus
- Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio had asked his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for assistance with supplies
- Nation of 60 million people is the worst-hit after China and has been placed under lockdown
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China is sending a team of medical experts to help Italy battle the coronavirus after the European country reported its highest death toll in a single day.
Beijing has provided similar assistance to Iran and Iraq to contain the spread of the respiratory virus that first broke out in central China. More than 4,200 people have been killed and over 117,000 infected – most of them in China – since the epidemic began in December.
Italy is the worst-hit country after China. It recorded its deadliest day on Tuesday, with 168 people killed by Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, taking the death toll to 631. More than 10,000 have been infected so far, and Rome has placed the entire country of 60 million people under lockdown.
Cases also continue to rise in neighbouring France and Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said up to 70 per cent of Germans – or almost 58 million people – could eventually be infected.
China meanwhile seems to have brought the disease under control, with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday saying victory was in sight during a symbolic visit to the epicentre, Wuhan. The country reported 24 new cases on Wednesday.
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