By Reuters Staff
ROME, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Italy reported 261 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 459 the day before, the health ministry said.
The daily tally of new infections increased by 10,407 from 19,037 the day before, taking the total number of cases since Italys epidemic began to 2,010,037.
Italy on Thursday became the eighth country in the world to exceed 2 million officially recorded cases.
The number of swab tests carried out in the past day was 81,285 from a previous 152,334, the health ministry said.
The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has reported 70,909 deaths since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world.
Patients in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 23,304, down by 98 from the day before.
The current number of intensive care patients decreased by 2 to 2,582, reflecting those who died or were discharged after recovery.
When Italys 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 Philip Pullella)read more
Italy reports 261 coronavirus deaths on Saturday – health ministry – Reuters India
