Italy reported 822 COVID 19-related deaths today, on Thursday, up from 722 the day before, and 29,003 new infections, up from 25,853 on Wednesday, Reuters cited the health ministry as saying. There were 232,711 swabs carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 230,007. Italy was the first Western country to be hit by the virus and has seen 52,850 COVID-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain's. It has also registered 1.510 million cases. While Italy's daily death tolls have been amongst the highest in Europe over recent days, the rise in hospital admissions and intensive care occupancy has slowed, suggesting the latest wave of infections was receding. The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 34,038 on Thursday, a decline of 275 from the day before. The number in intensive care decreased by two, following an increase of 32 on Wednesday, and now stands at 3,846. When Italy's second wave of the epidemic was accelerating fast in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day. The northern region of Lombardy, centred on Italy's financial capital Milan, remained the hardest hit area on Thursday, reporting 5,697 new cases.
