Deaths from the novel coronavirus in Italy climbed by 262 on Thursday, against 195 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases rose to 992 from 888 on Wednesday.
It was the largest number of deaths in one day since May 7.
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The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 31,368 the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.
The number of confirmed cases amounts to 223,096, the fifth highest global tally behind those of the United States, Spain, Britain and Russia.
A robot helping medical teams treat patients suffering from the coronavirus disease at the Circolo hospital, in Varese, Italy. (Reuters)
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People registered as currently carrying the illness fell to 76,440 from 78,457 the day before.
There were 855 people in intensive care on Thursday, down from 893 on Wednesday, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 115,228 were declared recovered against 112,541 a day earlier.
The agency said 1.820 million people had been tested for the virus against 1.779 million on Wednesday, out of a population of around 60 million.
