Italian COVID-19 Death Toll Surges Past 15,000 as 681 New Deaths Reported – Gov’t

ROME (Sputnik) - Italy’s COVID-19 death toll has surged past 15,000 as 681 more people have died after contracting the disease, Angelo Borrelli, the head of the National Civil Protection Department, announced on Saturday, adding that the daily rise in fatalities was slowing.

Saturday’s figures suggest that the rise in the death toll is beginning to slow, as 766 deaths were reported on Friday.

According to Borrelli, the number of people still displaying symptoms of the disease in Italy is 88,274. However, the number of people currently in intensive care has decreased, the Civil Protection Department chief said.

Italy has recorded a total of 124,632 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak. The northern region of Lombardy has been the most affected area of the country.