Venice: Italy, Europe’s worst coronavirus-hit country and the world’s second after China, Tuesday reported a further 345 deaths in the past 24 hours.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Europe to be the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. Italy with 27,980 positive cases is the worst affected country in the world after China. The country remained in complete lockdown amidst the alarming rise in cases.
But the self isolation has had a silver lining. With tourists barred and locals locking themselves up inside their homes, the streets and canals of picturesque Venice have been a sight to behold.
New guests have popped up in Venetian waters as swans and dolphins have returned to their natural habitats. New images surfaced on social media show boards walking the streets and dolphins and swan frolicking in clean blue waters – a sight that was previously unseen given the high tourist footfall in the city.
“Boars in the middle of my hometown, dolphins in the port of Cagliari, ducks in the fountains in Rome, Venice canals have now clean water full of fishes. Air pollution dropped. Nature is reclaiming its spaces during quarantine in Italy. #COVID19 #COVID-19,” wrote one user on Twitter accompanied by images.
https://twitter.com/Cosodelirante/status/1239203236927680512
“Here’s an unexpected side effect of the pandemic – the water’s flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned,” shared another user.
https://twitter.com/ikaveri/status/1239660248207589383
This was the third day running that Italy reported over 300 deaths – after 368 Sunday, and 349 Monday.
While the country’s toll has gone up to 2,503, a point of optimism was that the infection rate had slowed down, according to the BBC.
The country now has 31,506 cases – with 2,060 people in intensive care, up from 27,980 earlier. However, this was the slowest rate of increase since the country identified the presence of the virus last month.
PNN/Agencies