Italy reports 226 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 12,965 new cases

Italy reported 226 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 263 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 12,965 from 13,446.

Italy has registered 121,033 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world.

The country has reported 4.04 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 18,381 on Saturday, down from 18,940 a day earlier.

There were 143 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 137 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients however fell to 2,522 from a previous 2,583.

Some 378,202 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, up from a previous 338,771, the health ministry said.