ROME (Reuters) – Italy has registered 27,354 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Monday, down from 33,979 the day before, with the fall reflecting the usual drop in the number of swabs conducted on Sundays.
The ministry also reported 504 COVID 19-related deaths, down from 546 the previous day.
There were 152,663 coronavirus swabs carried out in the past day, the ministry said, against a previous 195,275.
Italy was the first Western country to be hit by the virus and has seen 45,733 COVID-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain’s, and 1.206 million cases.
The northern region of Lombardy, centred on Italy’s financial capital Milan, remained the hardest hit area on Monday, reporting 4,128 new cases, down steeply from 8,060 on Sunday.
The southern region of Campania, which has a far smaller population than Lombardy, recorded almost as many new infections on Monday, at 4,079.
(Reporting by Gavin Jones, editing by Crispian Balmer)
