Italy's COVID-19 deaths register new rise as active infections keep falling

Some 117 new fatalities due to the coronavirus were registered in Italy on Wednesday, bringing the country's death toll to 33,072, the latest data from the national Civil Protection Department showed.

It marked a visible rise compared to 78 deaths registered on Tuesday, and came after a prolonged period in which daily COVID-19 death figures showed a downward trend.

At the same time, active infections kept dropping, the Civil Protection highlighted in its bulletin, confirming a slowdown of the pandemic across the country, Xinhua reported.

Nationwide, the number of active infections has dropped by 1,976 to 50,966 cases. Of those who tested positive for the new coronavirus, 505 are in intensive care, 16 fewer compared to Tuesday, and 7,729 are hospitalized with symptoms, a decrease of 188 patients compared to Tuesday.

The rest 42,732 people, or about 84 per cent of those who tested positive, are quarantined at home with no symptoms or only mild symptoms.

Recoveries rose by 2,443 compared to Tuesday, pushing the total recoveries to 147,101 since the pandemic broke out in the northern Lombardy region on February 21.

The overall number of COVID-19 infections, fatalities and recoveries has risen to 231,139 cases over the past 24 hours, an increase of 584 cases from the 230,555 recorded on Tuesday.

As the pandemic visibly slowed down in recent weeks, Italy further eased on May 18 its COVID-19 restriction measures. Shops, restaurants, bars, barber shops, beauty salons, museums, and beachfront operators were all allowed to reopen, provided that they respect rules for social distancing and disinfect facilities.