An Italian man who was born during the Spanish flu pandemic, which raged from 1918 to 1920, has successfully recovered from the Covid-19 coronavirus at the ripe old age of 101.

According to CNN, the man from Rimini - identified only as 'Mr P' - was admitted to hospital last week but was discharged on Thursday.

The mayor of the northern Italian city Gloria Lisi has described the man as 'truly extraordinary' and said that his case offers some 'hope for the future'.

Mr P was born in 1919, while the world was gripped by the Spanish flu pandemic that is thought to have killed between 30 and 50 million people around the world.

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Lisi added: "Mr P made it. The family brought him home yesterday evening. To teach us that even at 101 years, the future is not written."

Italy has been the worst affected European country during the pandemic. Credit: PA

More than 28,000 people have died worldwide as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Of those, more than 9,000 have been in Italy, and has quickly become the European country to suffer most from the disease.

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The case of Mr P is a special one because - while the virus does not discriminate between different ages - the vast majority of deaths so far have been people who are elderly, vulnerable or have pre-existing health conditions.

Basically, older people are more at risk and therefore must be protected. That's what makes the case of this man in Rimini so remarkable.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently called on people to protect 'the collective wisdom' of our societies by keeping a watchful eye on the older people within those communities.

The WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We need to work together to protect older people from the virus,

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"They are valued and valuable members of our families and communities, but they're at higher risk of the more serious complications of Covid-19."

In order to protect those who are more at risk, we need to maintain a safe physical distance away from them to minimise the chances of infections.

There have been more than 1,000 cases in Rimini. Credit: PA

That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be checking on them in any way that we can, though.

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Ghebreyesus added: "Ensure their needs are being met for food, fuel, prescription medication, and human interaction.

"Physical distance doesn't mean social distance.