Italy new COVID-19 cases fall to 32,616 on Sunday

FILE PHOTO: People walk past a cafeteria that serves takeaways, as the region of Lombardy becomes a 'red zone', closing bars, restaurants and most shops as part of tougher measures to tackle the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Milan, Italy, November 6, 2020. REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo

Italy has registered 32,616 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, compared to 39,811 on Saturday.

The ministry also reported 331 COVID-19 related deaths, down from 425 the day before.

But the number of swab tests carried out was lower than Saturday's count.

A total of 41,394 people have died because of COVID-19 in Italy, which has registered 935,104 infections since the start of its outbreak.

The northern region of Lombardy, home to Italy's business capital Milan, remained the hardest-hit area, although new cases fell to 6,318 on Sunday from 11,489 on Saturday.

Neighbouring Piedmont was the second-worst affected with 3,884 new cases compared to 4,437 cases the day before.

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Giles Elgood)