Thread by @nytimes

In Italy, more than 8,100 people have died from the coronavirus — more than China and Spain combined.

“Usually we honor the dead," said a funeral director in Bergamo, the bleak heart of the outbreak. "Now it’s like a war, and we collect the victims.” nyti.ms/2WZ9LDZ

The streets are empty. But the sirens never stop wailing.

Officially, 1,328 people have died in Italy's Bergamo area as of March 26.

The actual toll may be 4 times higher, so many that the local paper is given over to death notices. nyti.ms/2UEoAJi

"At this point, all you hear in Bergamo is sirens,” said Michela Travelli.

The ambulance came when her father, Claudio, 60, woke up on March 15 and wept, saying, “I’m sick. I can’t do it anymore,” Michela said. His temperature had climbed to nearly 103 degrees.

Claudio Travelli’s wife and daughters looked on, waiting to see if the Red Cross workers would take Claudio to a hospital.

Red Cross workers brought him into the ambulance and his granddaughters, 3 and 6, waved goodbye from the terrace. nyti.ms/2UEoAJi

Red Cross workers have the dangerous task of entering the homes of those suspected of having contracted the virus. They disinfect to try to avoid spreading or catching the virus themselves.

The calls do not stop. nyti.ms/2UEoAJi

Once inside, Red Cross workers often meet virus victims with low blood oxygen, like Antonio Amato, 40.

As he was assisted into the ambulance, his children said goodbye, uncertain whether they would see him again. nyti.ms/2UEoAJi

A Red Cross crew was called for Maddalena Peracchi, 77. "This could be the last time we saw each other,” said her daughter, Cinzia Cagnoni. “It’s like sending someone to die alone.”

She got as close as she could to her mother’s face and told her she could get through this.

Bergamo's hospitals are a source of dread.

One has 500 coronavirus patients and is admitting up to 60 each day. Patients line the corridors.

Inside, the most critical cases are anesthetized and intubated. Some patients wear oxygen-filled helmets to help them breathe.

In Bergamo's hospital mortuaries, coffins back up in empty rooms. Red plastic bags, filled with personal effects, mark the coronavirus victims.

The coffins are so numerous, the army has been called to take them from warehouses for cremation. nyti.ms/2UEoAJi

To contain the virus, all religious and civil celebrations are banned in Italy. That includes funerals.

On March 21, the family of Teresina Gregis, who had died at home, found one of the last available burial recesses. Only a small group could mourn, given the lockdown.

No country has been hit harder by the coronavirus than Italy, and no region harder than Bergamo.

These photos and stories from @jasondhorowitz and @fabio_buccia evoke a portrait of despair at the world’s deadliest outbreak. nyti.ms/2UEoAJi