MILAN: Italy reported 57,890 COVID-19 related cases on Thursday, against 59,749 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths rose to 320 from 278.

Italy has registered 152,282 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 12.32 million cases to date.

Italy reports 138,860 COVID cases on Sunday, 227 deaths

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 14,562 on Thursday, down from 15,127 a day earlier.

There were 71 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 75 on Wednesday. The total number of intensive care patients fell to 1,037 from a previous 1,073.

Some 538,131 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 555,080, the health ministry said.