Weekly number of covid-19 cases in Italy drops for 10th week in a row.

Italy has seen a sharp decline in the number of hospital and intensive care admissions for covid-19 over the last 50 days, according to a report from the Gimbe Foundation, a public health think tank.

The study charts the falling hospital cases since the peak on 6 April, with hospitalisations down by almost 71 per cent and intensive care cases dropping by almost 65 per cent.

Since 6 April the number of people hospitalised in Italy for coronavirus has fallen from 29,337 to 8,557, while the number of those in intensive units has dropped from 3,743 to 1,323.

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Gimbe president Nino Cartabellotta credits the collapse in hospitalisations with the vaccination of "the most advanced age groups," reports Italian news agency ANSA.

Comparing the data from 19-25 May with the previous week, the report found a further decrease in new covid cases (30,867 down from 43,795) and deaths (1,004 down from 1,215).

Hospitalisations with coronavirus also decreased over the same period: 8,557 cases compared to 11,539, and intensive care cases: 1,323 compared to 1,689, reports ANSA.

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Cartabellotta also said that new weekly cases continue to drop, for the 10th consecutive week, a phenomenon the Gimbe president credits with the "reduced circulation of the virus" as well as a decrease in the number of tests being carried out.

"Compared to the previous week, in fact, there was a decrease of 12.2 per cent of people tested (-69.010) and of 24.9 per cent compared to two weeks ago (-165.241)," Cartabellotta said.

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The data from Gimbe confirms downward covid trends throughout Italy, and in eight regions - Abruzzo, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Molise, the autonomous province of Trento, Sardinia, Umbria and Veneto - the weekly incidence of cases is less than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

For official information relating to the covid-19 situation in Italy - in English - see the health ministry website. 

Photo: Diners at Da Mario in Pigneto, Rome. Credit: znatalias / Shutterstock.com.