Italy reported a one-day record Covid-19 death toll on Sunday, March 15.

Official data showed the death toll shot up by 368 to 1,809, which represents more than half of all the cases recorded outside China.

Overall, there have been 24,747 cases by Sunday in Italy.

Lombardy, the heavily populated area around the financial capital Milan, has been the worst-affected region with 1,218 deaths.

Of those, 252 were recorded in the last 24 hours alone.

Can't cope

Milan's Lombardy region governor Attilio Fontana said the situation in areas around Italy's financial capital was "getting worse".

"We are close to the point where we will no longer be able to resuscitate people because we will be out of intensive care unit beds," Fontana told Italy's Sky TG24 channel.

"We need those machines (that doctors) use to ventilate lungs, artificial respirators that unfortunately we cannot find," Fontana said.

"As soon as those respirators arrive from abroad, we will be ready to go on the attack."

The Lombardy region with 10 million people has recorded 1,218 of the deaths officially attributed to Covid-19 over the past three weeks -- more than the rest of Europe combined.

Lombardy also has 13,272 reported infections and 767 people in intensive care.

However, Lombardy is overwhelmed as its medical services are finding it difficult to cope, despite enjoying a world-class healthcare system that has been consistently praised by the World Health Organisation for its level of equipment and organisation of staff.

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The country of 60 million is bracing for an extended crisis.

Streets of Rome were secluded on a sunny afternoon of Italy's first weekend under effective lockdown.

Italy's experience has offered an alarming example for other European countries.

Bed and artificial respirator shortage could also occur elsewhere in Europe outside the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.

Top photo via Unsplash