Number of COVID-19 ICU patients up again in Italy after over two months' decline

The number of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) rose again in Italy after more than two months' decline, according to the bulletin released by the country's Civil Protection Department Thursday.

The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICUs rose to 168 on Thursday, up from 163 on Wednesday, the first such rise since April 3 when the number peaked at 4,068.

Meanwhile, a total of 180,544 patients have recovered, up by 1,089 compared to Wednesday, while another 66 patients lost their lives in the past day, bringing the overall death toll to 34,514.

Total active infections decreased by 824 to 23,101 over the past 24 hours. Of those infections, 2,867 are hospitalized with symptoms, down by 246, and 20,066 are isolated at home because they are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

Italy's overall number of COVID-19 cases, combining infections, fatalities and recoveries, rose to 238,159 over the past 24 hours, against 237,828 cases on Wednesday.