TheNewEra wrote:Why is Italy getting hit so hard with deaths compared to other places?
Because the sheer amount of cases (31,506 as of today) has completely overwhelmed their health care system. They have run out of the necessary equipment (be them hospital beds or ventilators for those with serious respiratory issues) and they practically can't hospitalize everyone that requires hospitalization. That's why the death toll is so massive. It's exactly what happened in Wuhan.
That's the system risk that people have been talking about. That's what all countries want to avoid right now. The virus is basically everywhere (hence the classification of a pandemic) and the best you can do now is try to flatten the curve as much as possible (by limiting people movement and contact) so that it doesn't overwhelm your health care system.