ROME (Reuters) – Italy reported 628 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday against 415 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections increased to 13,318 from 10,872.
After the usual weekend lull, the number of swab tests carried out in the past day rose to 166,205 from a previous 87,889, the ministry said.
The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has seen 69,842 COVID-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth-highest in the world. It has also registered some 1.977 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 24,948 on Tuesday, down by 197 from the day before. There were 201 new admissions to intensive care units, compared with 161 on Monday.
The actual number of intensive care patients decreased by 44 to 2,687, reflecting those who died or were discharged after recovery.
When Italy’s second wave of the epidemic was accelerating fast in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, editing by Gavin Jones)
