The number of patients admitted to intensive care units in Italy has jumped by 13.7% within the past 24 hours, as COVID-19 infections surge again in the country where the pandemic first took hold in Europe.
Italy’s civil protection agency confirmed 5,901 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, an increase of 1,282 from the previous day. An additional 41 deaths from COVID-19 were also registered, the country’s worst single-day death toll from the disease since June 17.
The cumulative totals now stand at 365,467 cases and 36,246 deaths.
Italy, once the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, introduced strict new nationwide measures on Tuesday after seeing a sharp uptick in cases in recent weeks.
The European country had gradually loosened restrictions during the spring and summer, following a nearly three-month lockdown that helped get its COVID-19 outbreak under control.
