ROME, April 24 — Italy reported 56,263 new Covid-19 related cases today, against 70,520 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily number of deaths fell to 79 from 143.

Italy has registered 162,688 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 16.1 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with Covid-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 9,895 today, down from 9,914 a day earlier.

There were 34 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 43 yesterday. The total number of intensive care patients stood at 416, up from a previous 409.

Some 326,211 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 421,533, the health ministry said. — Reuters