Italy reports 344 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 17,567 new cases

FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks walk as Rome becomes a 'red zone', going into lockdown, as the country struggles to reduce the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, in Rome, Italy, March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Italy reported 344 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 718 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 17,567 from 18,938 the day before.

Italy has registered 113,923 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has 3.75 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 27,654 on Saturday, down from 28,146 a day earlier.

FILE PHOTO: People walk in Duomo square as the region of Lombardy becomes a 'red zone', going into lockdown as the country struggles to reduce the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, in Milan, Italy, March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo

There were 186 new admissions to intensive care units, edging down from 192 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients decreased to 3,588 from a previous 3,603.

Some 320,892 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 362,973, the health ministry said.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by)