Italian man, 101, beats the odds as country’s corona death count passes 10,000

Born in 1919, Mr. P lived through the devastating Spanish flu pandemic, which killed approximately at least 20 million people.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

Just because the elderly are more susceptible to the coronavirus doesn’t mean they should lose hope.

An Italian man, 101-years-old and identified only as Mr. P, was released from the hospital on Thursday after fully recovering from the coronavirus, reported CNN.

“Mr. P made it. The family brought him home yesterday evening. To teach us that even at 101 years the future is not written,” said Gloria Lisi, the deputy mayor of the Italian city of Rimini, as quoted by CNN.

The recovery is “truly extraordinary” and gives “hope for the future,” she said.

Born in 1919, Mr. P lived through the devastating Spanish flu pandemic which killed approximately 20 and 50 million people.

On Saturday, Italy’s Civil Protection Agency announced 92,742 Italians are infected with the deadly disease, 12,384 have recovered, and 10,023 have died.

Of those confirmed cases, 3,856 are reported to be in critical condition, 26,000 are hospitalized and the rest are in home isolation.

Bergamo, a province of 1.2 million people in the northern region of Italy, has been hit the hardest with more than 39,000 confirmed cases and 8,349 deaths.

The number of coronavirus victims has overwhelmed the region’s hospitals, says Lorenzo D’Antiga, director of the Transplant Center at the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital in Bergamo.

“We don’t have any beds left,” D’Antiga told Euronews earlier this month.

“The situation is really dramatic, the mood is really depressing, relatives can’t stay with patients during their admission and some others die without anyone around,” he said. “It’s also forbidden to have funerals, so even the last prayer can’t be done properly.”

According to D’Antiga, with Intensive Care Units remaining at maximum capacity the ability to resuscitate patients may soon not be an option anymore.