A total of 201 people got infected by the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours in Italy as against 182 on Wednesday, the country's Ministry of Health said Thursday.
The total active cases, however, decreased to 15,060 from 15,255 on Wednesday, fresh figures showed.
Of the current active cases, 963 were hospitalized with symptoms (down from 1,025 on Wednesday) and 14,015 were quarantined at home because they are asymptomatic or have very light symptoms (compared with 14,143 on Wednesday).
A total of 82 COVID-19 patients are in the ICUs, down from 87 on Wednesday. Another 30 have died, bringing the toll to 34,818.
A total of 191,083 patients have recovered, up from 190,717 on Wednesday, the ministry said.
The overall number of COVID-19 infections, fatalities, and recoveries rose to 240,961 nationwide over the past 24 hours, from 240,760 on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said.
SECOND WAVE POSSIBLE
Speaking on RAI public broadcaster early on Thursday, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said a second wave of the pandemic could be in the cards, and he defended his decision to impose a two-week quarantine on travelers arriving in Italy from non-Schengen countries.
"A second wave in the autumn is not a certainty, but the scientific community does not exclude it," Speranza said, urging citizens to maintain social distancing until a vaccine is available.
"The closure to non-Schengen countries is an added precaution," Speranza explained, adding "In Italy and in Europe the curve has flattened significantly, but this has not occurred in the rest of the world."
Right now "the evolution of the coronavirus at a global level indicates that these are the toughest weeks in North America, in South America and in Asia," Speranza said.
"We cannot afford to turn back the clock due to thoughtlessness," Speranza added. "It would not be respectful of the sacrifices made by the women and men of our country."
JOB LOSSES
The Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) said Thursday that over half a million jobs have been lost since February when the pandemic began in this country.
"Since February 2020, employment levels decreased by over half a million units," ISTAT analysts wrote.
ISTAT said 84,000 jobs were lost in May compared with April, pushing the overall unemployment rate up by 1.2 percentage points to 7.8 percent while the youth unemployment rate jumped by 2 percentage points to 23.5 percent.
A total of 381,000 people lost their jobs in March-May 2020 compared with the previous quarter, while 613,000 jobs were lost in May this year compared with May 2019, ISTAT said.
