Italy’s coronavirus infection rate is on the rise again, according to data released by the government’s main health research institute, although the transmission rate is still declining.
According to the Xinhua news agency, Italy’s National Institute of Health (ISS) stated that the number of illnesses surged for the first time in weeks for the one-week period ending on Thursday, hitting 222 cases per 100,000 population.
This was an increase from the previous week’s figure of 207 per 100,000 people.
The Rt rate, a measure of how quickly an illness spreads, was, however, modest.
Despite an increase in the infection rate, it continued to decline from June 3 to 9.
According to ISS, the percentage of infected patients in intensive care units has reduced to 2.0%, down from 2.3 percent a week ago.
All but two of Italy’s 21 regions are now classified as low risk, with the remaining two classified as moderate risk.
Covid-19 has slightly over 620,000 active cases in Italy as of Friday, the lowest number since December 28, 2021.
The country had roughly 2.8 million active cases during the height of the pandemic.
On Friday, there were roughly 21,500 new infections, down 200 from the day before.
In the meantime, 52 more Covid-related deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.
(with inputs from IANS)