Italy records smaller increase in virus cases for second day

Italy has recorded a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases for the second straight day, officials said Monday while cautioning it was too soon to know if the worst is behind the country with the world's second-biggest caseload.

Data released by Italy's Civil Protection agency showed 4,789 new cases from a day earlier, nearly 700 fewer than the day-to-day increase of 5,560 new cases reported Sunday.

The number of deaths also did not rise by as much. There were just over 600 more virus-related registered in Italy on Monday compared to 651 on Sunday.

Italy has been anxious to see the day-to-day figures for new cases and deaths go down as it starts a third week under a nationwide lockdown and its health system struggles under the weight of the world's largest COVID-19 outbreak outside of China.

As of Monday, Italy had a total of 59,138 virus cases compared to China's 81,496, and the country is on pace to soon have twice as many deaths.

It was only Saturday when Italian authorities reported another set of grim one-day highs from the epidemic that first swept northern Italy starting last month: 793 more dead and 6,557 new cases.

Health authorities have cautioned that it will be a few more days before they will know if Italy is at the beginning of a positive trend.

“These are crucial days. Woe to whoever lets down the guard,'' Health Minister Roberto Speranza said of Monday's numbers. “Now, more than ever, the commitment of everyone is needed."

A top national health official, Silvio Brusaferro, resisted being too optimistic, saying that the improvements registered Monday were due to actions taken at the beginning of the month, not in recent days.

‘’We need more consecutive results to confirm the trend, to be more certain that we are in a favourable situation,” Brusaferro said. -- AP