How Italian priests are sacrificing their lives to save coronavirus patients?

Priests in Italy are giving up their chances of survival to save those who have been infected by the coronavirus.

At least 50 priests have reportedly been killed by the deadly virus in the country.

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The latest case is that of fatherFather Giuseppe Berardelli who died in hospital in Lovere, Bergamo, one of the worst-hit cities in Italy.

A 72-year-old Italian priest died from his coronavirus infection after sacrificing his ventilator so a younger patient could use it instead.

A healthcare worker at the San Giuseppe di Casnigo rest home where he was being treated said Berardelli ''renounced''the

ventilator ''to assign it to someone younger than him.''

A Jesuit priest in New York praised Berardelli in social media poststhat quickly went viral.

Fr. Giuseppe Berardelli, a 72-year-old priest who gave a respirator (that his parishioners had purchased for him), to a younger patient (whom he did not know), has died from #coronavirus.

"Greater love has no person..." (Jn 15:13) https://t.co/qXQ6knoE6n via @Araberara pic.twitter.com/uKxRNghire — James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) March 24, 2020

The world's worst affected country with 6,820deaths so far, Italy has been under prolonged lockdown as it tries to stop the spread of infections from the worst-hit northern region of Lombardy.