Italy has registered 143 296 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world. The country has reported 9.8 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with COVID-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 19 442 on Saturday, down from 19 485 a day earlier. There were 121 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 148 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients decreased to 1 676 from a previous 1 707.
Some 1.04 million tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 1.12 million, the health ministry said.