As of this writing, John Hopkins University reports that there have been 339,645 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world, resulting in 14,717 deaths. Currently, the worst country to be hit by the outbreak is Italy, which has seen 5,476 people die as a result of the disease.
Fortunately, though, there are still stories of hope coming from the stricken nation.
It has been confirmed that a 95-year-old grandmother who had tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus has become the oldest woman in Italy to recover from the illness.
After being admitted to a hospital in Pavullo on March 5, Alma Clara Corsini is now fully recovered after her body displayed a "great reaction", the Daily Mail reports.
Italian media reports that the grandmother, from Fanano in Modena, improved without the need of "antiviral therapy". Ms. Corsini later told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta Di Modena: "Yes, yes, I'm fine. They were good people who looked after me well, and now they'll send me home in a little while."
Ms. Corsini has now returned home after being discharged from the hospital, where workers described her as the "pride of the staff" as they battled growing numbers of coronavirus cases.
Per The Mail, Italy had its first recorded death from COVID-19 back in February, and has since become the worst-hit nation in the world.
On Sunday, the Italian government banned travel within the country in another attempt to "flatten the curve" and slow the spread of the disease.
All businesses have also been ordered to cease "non-essential activity" from Wednesday, in an effort to keep more people off the streets and in isolation. Business operations must remain shut down until April 3.
Related - A 103-year-old Chinese grandmother recovers from the coronavirus:Fortunately, it does seem that desperate measures are beginning to take effect, as a small town in the north of the country saw no new cases of the novel coronavirus yesterday.
The 3,300 residents of Vo' Euganeo, in the province of Padua, Veneto, were put on lockdown after the town recorded the country's first death last month.
The Governor of the Veneto region has since stated that after the residents were cut off from the rest of Italy, they have all undergone two tests - the first time ahead of the lockdown and a second 14 days later.
Three percent of the inhabitants tested positive for COVID-19 and were then immediately put in isolation.