Italy reports 476 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, 13,189 new cases

Italy reported 476 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 499 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,189 from 9,660.

Italy reported 476 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 499 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,189 from 9,660. Some 279,307 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, against a previous 244,429, the health ministry said.

Italy has registered 89,820 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged last February, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the sixth-highest in the world. The country has reported 2.58 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 20,071 on Wednesday, down from 20,317 a day earlier.

There were 133 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 158 on Tuesday. The total number of intensive care patients declined to 2,145 from a previous 2,214. When Italy's second wave of the epidemic was accelerating quickly in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by about 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day.