Italy reports record 170,844 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, 259 deaths

Italy has registered 138,045 deaths linked to the virus since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, and has reported 6.57 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 12,912 on Tuesday, up from 12,333 a day earlier.

Italy reported a record 170,844 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, against 68,052 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 259 from 140. Italy has registered 138,045 deaths linked to the virus since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, and has reported 6.57 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 12,912 on Tuesday, up from 12,333 a day earlier. There were 153 new admissions to intensive care units, against 103 on Monday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 1,392 from a previous 1,351.

About 1.23 million tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the last day, compared with a previous 445,321, the health ministry said.