COVID-19: Italy registers 137 deaths in 24 hours

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 20 - The health ministry said Monday that 137 COVID-19 sufferers had died in Italy in the last 24-hour period and 16,213 new cases had been registered in that time.
    That compares to the 97 COVID deaths and 24,259 new cases reported on Sunday.
    The contagion figures are often lower on Mondays than on other days of the week because fewer tests are done on Sundays.
    Indeed, 337,222 tests had been done in the last 24-hour period compared to the 566,300 reported on Sunday.
    The positivity rate was 4.8%, up from 4.3% on Sunday.
    The ministry said 987 COVID patients were in intensive care in Italy, an increase of 21 with respect to Sunday.
    It said 8,101 coronavirus sufferers were in ordinary hospital wards, an increase of 375. (ANSA).