Italy reports 604 new deaths, slowest rise in contagions

ROME 

Italy on Tuesday reported 604 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 17,127 -- the highest worldwide -- but registering the lowest rise ever in the number of active infections.

Tuesday’s record low rate in the rise of contagions -- down from the double-digit increases in the early stages of the outbreak -- supports the government's hopes that a plateau in the contagion curve has been reached.

Current infections grew 0.9% from Monday to 94,067 -- the slowest rise since the start of the outbreak in Italy. The number of recovered people also