Italy virus toll hits one-day record as Wuhan reports 'hope'

Italian military trucks and soldiers are seen by Bergamo's cemetery after the army was deployed to move coffins from the cemetery to neighbouring provinces, after the cemetery was overwhelmed by the scale of the coronavirus outbreak [Reuters]

Italy reported a dramatic surge in coronavirus deaths on Friday as the pandemic spread further across the planet, but Wuhan in China reported no new cases, sparking a glimmer of hope.

Worldwide fatalities from the pandemic swept past 10,000, with the number of infected people topping 250,000, according to an AFP tally.