Italy's covid-19 contagion curve continues to rise.

Italy registered 5,372 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, the health ministry announced on 9 October, the first time that the nation has exceeded 5,000 cases in a single day since the end of March.

The latest figures - up from 4,458 new cases on 8 October - come amid a sharp rise in Italy's contagion curve over the last week.

Italy registered 28 covid-related deaths on 9 October, compared to 22 the day before, with over 129,000 swab tests taken in a single day, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

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There were 983 new cases registered today in Lombardy, the worst-hit region, with 769 cases in Campania, 595 in Veneto, 483 in Tuscany and 387 in Lazio, the health ministry said.

There are currently 70,110 people known to be positive for covid-19 in Italy, with 387 coronavirus patients now in intensive care, up 29 from the day before.

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Despite the surge in new cases, Italy is still recording significantly fewer daily cases than several other large European countries, including France, Spain and the UK.

The last time Italy registered more than 5,000 cases in a day was on 29 March, according to Reuters, with 5,217 infections and 756 deaths.

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