Italy allowing coronavirus patients above 60 to die

An Israeli doctor working in the coronavirus epicentre of northern Italy said medics are no longer allowed to give respirators to anyone aged over 60.

Dr Gal Peleg - who works in Parma, Italy - said artificial respiratory machines are so low in numbers access must be limited.

The coronavirus death toll in Italy's worst-hit region has surpassed 3,450 in the last 24 hours after a rise of 360 fatalities in Lombardy.

Dr Peleg said his department makes sure terminally-ill coronavirus patients can say goodbye to their loved ones despite strict quarantine rules, N12 reports.

Ministers in Rome were forced to plunge all 60million citizens into lockdown, while ordering all non-essential businesses in the country to shut amid the outbreak.

The pandemic has taken a choke-hold on everyday life, with even Pope Francis retreating indoors to make his weekly address via videolink.

But despite Italy's clampdown on person-to-person contact, the death toll spiralled yesterday from 739 to 4,825 nationwide, marking the deadliest day for a country in the global pandemic so far.