Rome – The new coronavirus has directly
caused the death of nine out of 10 of Italian COVID-19 victims, a
study released on Thursday said, shedding new light on the
epidemic which mainly struck the country's northern regions.
Since discovering its first infections in February, Italy
has reported some 35,000 COVID-19 fatalities.
However, health authorities said many of those who died were
also affected by other ailments and this provoked a fierce
debate on whether the virus was the actual cause of death.
The study published by the Superior Health Institute and
National Statistics Institute ISTAT showed the coronavirus was
the direct cause of death for 89% of the 4,942 victims in the
sample.
The remaining 11% had coronavirus but died as a direct
result of other medical conditions, including heart disease
cancer and dementia. However, the virus might have aggravated
their condition and accelerated their death.
The study was based on deaths reported at the end of May,
when Italy had already loosened its rigid lockdown rules.
Pneumonia was observed in 79% of the people whose deaths
were directly tied to coronavirus and was the most common
complication for COVID-19 patients, followed by other
respiratory diseases.
The report showed COVID-19 was also fatal for some people
who did not have any underlying health problem.
"In 28.2% of the cases analysed, there are no other causes
of death," the report said.