COVID-19: With 431 new fatalities, Italy reports lowest death toll in three weeks

Officials have been warning Italians not to keep their guard down even if the number of new cases and deaths is narrowing, especially on the Easter holiday weekend when many are tempted to go out.

Monica Carfora, deputy head of the emergency of the Santo Spirito Hospital, which now has a separate emergency for possible covid patients, holds a chocolate Easter egg as she takes a break with her team for a small Easter celebration outside the entrance

ROME: Italy on Sunday reported its lowest coronavirus death toll in more than three weeks, confirming trends showing that the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe's worst-hit nation had peaked.

The 431 new deaths reported by the civil protection service were the lowest since March 19.

Italy's death total now stands at 19,899, officially second behind the United States with 21,489 fatalities.

According to Johns Hopkins University tracker, Italy has recorded over 156,363 cases so far.

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Officials have been warning Italians not to keep their guard down even if the number of new cases and deaths is narrowing, especially on the Easter holiday weekend when many are tempted to go to the countryside or seashore.

Police checkpoints were set up around major arteries in Milan, the capital of the hardest-hit region of Lombardy, with 38 per cent of all cases and more than half of all deaths.