Italy's virus toll tops 4,000 after new one-day record
Rome: Italy on Friday reported a record 627 new deaths from the novel coronavirus and saw its world-leading toll surpass 4,000 despite government efforts to stem the pandemic's spread.
The Mediterranean country's daily death rate is now higher than that officially reported by China at the peak of its outbreak around Wuhan's Hubei province.
Italy's previous one-day record death toll was 475 on Wednesday. Italy has seen more than 1,500 fatalities from COVID-19 in the past three days alone.
It has now recorded the five highest one-day tolls officially registered around the world. Italy's total number of deaths now stands and 4,032. Infections rose by nearly 6,000 to 47,021.
The nation of 60 million currently accounts for 36.6 percent of the world's coronavirus deaths.
"There are so many people walking around who have the virus and who are at risk of infecting others," Matteo Bassetti, the director of the infectious diseases department at Genoa's San Martino clinic, told Italy's AGI news agency.
"The 40,000 cases we are talking about could actually be 100 times higher."
The Italian government intends to extend a ban on public gatherings and the shutdown of almost all businesses past their March 25 deadline.
Regional leaders and city mayors are urging the Italian government to adopt even tougher restrictions such as a ban on outdoor exercises and the closure of all stores on Sundays.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
