In Italy, Priests Are Dying as Fast as Doctors

In Italy, more than 100 doctors have died from the coronavirus. Now, reports that priests are dying just as quickly.

"Across Italy, the virus has killed nearly 100 priests, many of them retired and especially vulnerable to a virus that preys on older people, whether it be in nursing homes or monasteries. Avvenire, the newspaper run by the Italian bishops conference, is honoring the dead with the hashtag 'PriestsForever,'" reports the New York Times.

Numbers

2,015 Cases in Rhode Island

20,974 Cases in Massachusetts

49 Deaths in RI

599 Deaths in Massachusetts

503,177 Cases in the United States

18,761 Deaths in the United States

1,712,987 Global Cases

103,633 Global Deaths

382,876 Global Recoveries

Nursing Homes Are Breeding Grounds

Approximately 50 percent of Rhode Island's deaths are tied to nursing homes.

"The new coronavirus has hit more than 2,100 nursing homes and other senior facilities around the U.S., killing over 2,300 people, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal, an indication the pandemic’s toll in these facilities has been greater than the federal government has reported," reports the WSJ. 

Still No Data on Race in Rhode Island 

It is hard to develop strategies to minimize the impact of a virus like coronavirus without data.

Well, Rhode Island continues to fly blind as it pertains to demographic data based on race.

The Rhode Island Department of Health told GoLocal Friday, "We should have some numbers to share next week."

RI Continues to Be One of the Hardest Hit States Per Capita

Rhode Island ranks 8th in the United States for cases per capita.

And, Rhode Island ranks 9th for death per capita.

Rhode Island has jumped to 4th in tests per capita.

Mafia Helping the Poor

The Italian news site The Local reports:

"Italy's mafia groups are also poised to snatch up struggling businesses as the country -- which is in crisis over the deadly coronavirus pandemic -- awaits European funding to boost its battered economy, he said.

'If Europe doesn't intervene soon the multiplication of mafioso money that's already in Germany, France, Spain, Holland, Belgium will be unrestrained,' Saviano told journalists on Thursday.

Saviano (pictured below), best known for his non-fiction book "Gomorrah" about southern Italy's Camorra clan, is an expert on mafia groups and how they have successfully expanded beyond drugs and other illegal activity to worm their way into otherwise legitimate businesses and sectors across the world.

At the most basic level, criminal organisations are providing groceries for the poorest Italians, Saviano said.

Moreover, in Italy's southern capital Naples, moneylenders, on orders of the Camorra, have cancelled interest on debt, he said.

GoLocal LIVE, Saturday, April 11, 2020

1:00 PM Governor Gina Raimondo Briefing