Italy reported 70,520 COVID-19 related cases on Saturday, against 73,212 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily number of deaths fell to 143 from 202.

Italy has registered 162,609 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 9,914 on Saturday, down from 10,076 a day earlier.