Italy reports 380 coronavirus deaths on Friday, 26,824 new cases

FILE PHOTO: A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is transferred from a White Cross ambulance, a non-profit organisation, to a hospital in Monza, Italy November 16, 2020. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo

Italy reported 380 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday against 373 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 26,824 from 25,673 the day before.

Some 369,636 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 372,217, the health ministry said.

Italy has registered 101,564 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 reported around 3.18 million cases to date.

People walk in the street as the government is due to announce stricter coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, in Rome, Italy, March 12, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 23,656 on Friday, rising from 23,247 a day earlier.

There were 226 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 266 on Thursday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 2,914 from a previous 2,859.

When Italy's second wave of the epidemic was accelerating quickly in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by about 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Sabina Suzzi)