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Doctors in Italy are having to make agonising decisions

Italy is the worst-hit country in Europe in terms of COVID-19, with 35,713 cases - and the death toll there - 3,405 - now exceeds that of China, where the disease emerged towards the end of last year. One Milanese doctor, who identified herself as Martina, told ITV: "There are a lot of young people in our Intensive Care Units (ICUs) - our youngest is a 38-year-old who had had no comorbidities (underlying health problems).


"A lot of patients need help with breathing but there are not enough ventilators. "They've told us that starting from now we'll have to choose who to intubate - priority will go to the young or those without comorbidities. "At Niguarda, the other big hospital in Milan, they are not intubating anyone over 60, which is really, really young."

She added: "This virus is so infectious that the only way to avoid a 'massacre' is to have the least number possible getting infected over the longest possible timescale. "Right now, if we get 10,000 people in Italy in need of ventilators - when we only have 3,000 in the country - 7,000 people will die. "Rome right now is like where Milan was 10 days ago. READ MORE: Britain's elderly need YOUR help – here's what you can do

A doctor warned it was vital to keep children away from the elderly


Health workers in Italy are under extreme pressure

"A child with no symptoms will go to visit its grandparents, and basically kill them. "So it’s essential to avoid contact between them". Another doctor, who works at Nigurdia hospital, said: "We have closed down entire wards, and reduced the number of beds in traditional wards.

Coronavirus symptoms

"The number of ICU beds has been tripled. "There was even pressure to take over our Cardiac ICU." Chillingly, he added: "All the resuscitation bays are full. "They’re having to triage, deciding who to intubate and who to let die."

A makeshift field hospital in Italy