Covid hits Italy life expectancy

Average life expectancy in Italy has been shortened by almost one year to 82.3 years because of the coronavirus pandemic, national statistics office Istat said yesterday. Italy has been one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic, and the first in Europe. Earlier this week, it surpassed the milestone of more than 100,000 deaths. Before the pandemic took its toll, life expectancy across Italy had risen from 81.7 years in 2010 to 83.2 years in 2019, putting the country near the top of European Union tables.  The bloc's average stood at 81 years in 2018.