Italy has registered 159,666 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 14.79 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 9,949 on Saturday, down from 9,981 a day earlier.
There were 72 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 47 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 493 from a previous 476.
Some 477,041 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 514,823, the health ministry said.
