Italy reports 460 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, 21,267 new cases

FILE PHOTO: People walk at a street a year after the peak of Italy's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bergamo, the country's epicentre, Italy, March 3, 2021. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo

Italy reported 460 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 551 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 21,267 from 18,765 the day before.

Some 363,767 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 335,189, the health ministry said.

Italy has registered 106,339 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 3.44 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 28,438 on Wednesday, up from 28,428 a day earlier.

There were 300 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 317 on Tuesday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 3,588 from a previous 3,546.

(Reporting by Maria Pia Quaglia, editing by Giulia Segreti)