ROME, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Italy on Monday reported 8,562 new coronavirus cases, bringing total active infections to 491,630, according to the latest numbers posted by the Ministry of Health.
This was down from 17,246 new cases recorded about 10 days ago, on Jan. 14.
Italy also registered 420 COVID-19 deaths, taking its toll to 85,881 since the pandemic first started in the country in late February 2020.
Meanwhile, 15,787 patients have recovered, bringing overall recoveries so far to 1,897,861.
Of the total current infections, the vast majority or 467,785 people are isolated at home with light or no symptoms, 21,424 are hospitalized with symptoms, and 2,421 are in intensive care.
On Sunday there were 11,629 new infections, 299 deaths, and 10,885 recoveries.
Italy first declared a national state of emergency due to the pandemic on Jan. 31, 2020. Earlier this month, the government extended the state of emergency to April 30 this year.
Also on Monday, the Ministry of Health reported that 132,739 Italians have been inoculated with a second dose of the anti-COVID vaccine, which requires two doses to become effective.
A total of 1,416,684 Italians have been inoculated with the first dose of the vaccine since Dec. 31 last year, it added.
Of those vaccinated so far, 932,719 are health care workers, 330,900 are non-healthcare workers, 139,907 are residents of nursing homes for the elderly, and 13,158 are people aged over 80 years who do not live in nursing homes.
Right now Italy is administering two different vaccines - one developed by German biotechnology company BioNtech in collaboration with American multinational pharmaceutical Pfizer, and one developed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna.
The two vaccines could vaccinate 30 million Italians by the end of 2021, Extraordinary Commissioner for the Health Emergency Domenico Arcuri has said.
The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine was approved on Dec. 21, 2020 by Europe's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), for use in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). The Moderna vaccine was approved on Jan. 6 this year.
A third vaccine candidate developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is close to the finish line. EMA is slated to meet on Jan. 29 to issue its decision.
In related news, Health Minister Roberto Speranza signed on Jan. 23 new orders designating which regions fall into which color-coded zone, with the new rules going into effect on Jan. 24.
In a bid to contain the second wave of the pandemic, the Italian government late last year divided Italy into three color-coded areas -- yellow, orange, and red -- with varying restrictions according to the level of virus transmission.
The new orders moved Lombardy and Sardinia regions from high-risk zones, where near-total lockdown rules are in place, to medium risk zones, where restrictions are slightly more relaxed. They include a ban on travel outside one's municipality, and restaurants can operate so long as they only serve take-away.
The two regions joined the "orange" regions of Abruzzo, Calabria, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Marche, Veneto, Piedmont, Puglia, Umbria and Valle d'Aosta.
The only two regions still in the red zone are the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in the north and the island of Sicily in the south. Red zones are where the toughest anti-COVID rules apply, including the shutdown of most shops and all bars, restaurants, gyms and museums.
The rest of Italy's 20 regions, namely Basilicata, Campania, Molise, Tuscany, and the Autonomous Province of Trento, are in the low-risk zone, where bars and restaurants can serve take-away until 6 p.m., and shops and museums are open.
The new designation is effective for 15 days unless new epidemiological developments make changes necessary, Speranza's orders said. Enditem
