Italy reports 123 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 28,064 new cases

Italy reported 123 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 120 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections declined slightly to 28,064 from 28,632. The country has reported 5.365 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 7,576 on Saturday, up from 7,520 a day earlier.

Italy reported 123 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 120 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections declined slightly to 28,064 from 28,632. Italy has registered 135,544 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world. The country has reported 5.365 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 7,576 on Saturday, up from 7,520 a day earlier. There were 95 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 70 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 953 from a previous 923.

Some 697,740 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 669,160, the health ministry said. Earlier on Saturday Italy's national health institute (ISS) reported that the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading quickly, with new cases identified in the country's north and south.