(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 4 - The COVID death toll passed the 90,000 mark in Italy on Thursday rising by 421 to 90,241, the health ministry said.
    It said there have been 13,659 new cases in Italy in the last 24 hours, compared to 13,189 Wednesday.
    On Wednesday there were 476 new victims.
    The number of intensive care cases rose by six, and hospital admissions fell by 328.
    Some 270,142 tests have been carried out in the last 24 hours, the ministry said, compared to 279,307 Wednesday.
    The positivity rate has risen by 0.35% from 4.7% to 5.05%.
    Pope Francis on Thursday voiced solidarity with musicians hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    "My thoughts go out to all those who have been affected: to the musicians, who have seen their lives and professions disrupted by the demands of distancing; to those who have lost their jobs and social contact; to those who have had to cope, in difficult contexts, with the necessary training, education and community life," Francis said in a video message to the 4th International Conference on Music, organised by the Pontifical Council for Culture, in collaboration with the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music and the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of the Ateneo Sant'Anselmo, Vatican News reported.
    He added his hope that "this aspect of social life can also be reborn, that we can return to singing and playing and enjoying music together." Concluding his video message, Pope Francis asked a question, one which he says "comes naturally in the situation in which we find ourselves, caused by the pandemic." "Is the silence we live empty or are we in the process of listening? Is it empty or are we in the process of listening? Will we allow, afterwards, the emergence of a new song?" The Pope also expressed his hope that participants' reflections, on the theme 'Texts and Contexts', "may enrich ecclesial communities and those who work in the field of music, an area that is very important for liturgy and evangelisation." As is well known, noted the Pope, "the Bible has inspired countless musical expressions, including fundamental pages in the history of music." He offered the examples of Gregorian chant, Palestrina, and Bach to stress that "it has inspired a great variety of compositions on the five continents" and that various contemporary composers have also dealt with the sacred texts. (ANSA).