Italy recorded 119 new deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic on Saturday against 130 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases rose marginally to 669 from 652 on Friday.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 now stands at 32,735, the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.

The Civil Protection Agency said the total number of confirmed cases in Italy since the start of its outbreak now amounts to 229,327, the sixth highest global tally behind those of the United States, Russia, Spain, Britain and Brazil.

People registered as currently carrying the illness dipped to 57,752 on Saturday from 59,322 the day before.

There were 572 people in intensive care on Saturday, down from 595 on Friday, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 138,840 were declared recovered against 136,720 a day earlier.

The agency said 2.164 million people had been tested for the virus as of Saturday, against 2.122 million on Friday, out of a population of around 60 million.

Reuters