Italy on Saturday reported 482 additional deaths from the novel coronavirus — lower than the previous day — bringing the total number of fatalities to 23,227 and confirming a slowdown in the death rate.

According to the latest data released by the Italian Civil Protection Department, infections grew at a slightly faster rate of 0.7% from Friday to reach 107,771.
Recoveries climbed to 44,927, while the number of intensive care patients continued a more than two-week drop, further easing pressure on Italy’s overstretched healthcare system.
The epicenter of the Italian outbreak remains the northern Lombardy region, which now counts 12,050 fatalities — more than half of the total. The government continues to struggle with planning the country’s recovery and protecting its fragile economy, which faces a drop in national output of up to 9% in 2020.