ROME: Italy reported 39 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 50 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 3,235 from 2,466.

Italy has registered 131,157 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.69 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 2,872 on Wednesday, falling from 2,968 a day earlier.

There were 24 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 18 on Tuesday. The total number of intensive care patients decreased to 415 from a previous 433.

Some 301,773 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 322,282, the health ministry said.