ROME (Reuters) - Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 55 on Tuesday, against 60 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases rose to 318 from 178 on Monday.
The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 now stands at 33,530, the agency said, the third highest in the world after those of the United States and Britain.
The number of confirmed cases amounts to 233,515, the sixth highest global tally behind those of the United States, Russia, Brazil, Spain and Britain.
Of the 318 new infections registered on Tuesday, 187 were in the northern region of Lombardy, by far the worst affected since the start of Italy's outbreak.
From Wednesday Italy will allow freedom of movement across the country, a cause of misgiving among some regional governors who fear that allowing people to travel unrestricted out of Lombardy could spark new areas of contagion in other regions.
People registered as currently carrying the illness in Italy fell on Tuesday to 39,893 from 41,367 the day before.
There were 408 people in intensive care on Tuesday, down from 424 on Monday, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 160,092 were declared recovered against 158,355 a day earlier.
The agency said 2.477 million people had been tested for the virus as of Tuesday, against 2.452 million on Monday, out of a population of around 60 million.