Italy records 1,000 #COVID19 cases in 24 hours

Fears of a second coronavirus wave in Italy grow after the country recorded the worst daily rise in new infections since lockdown restrictions were lifted in May.

The country registered 1,071 new cases and a further three deaths in just 24 hours, the health ministry reported earlier today. It is the first time crossing the threshold of 1,000 infections since May 12. 

Officials in Rome said the capital region alone recorded 215 daily infections due to people returning from holiday. It comes after the country saw a relentless uptick in cases over the past few days, from 947 on Friday, 845 on Thursday and 642 on Wednesday. 

The capital's health official Alessio D'Amato said most of those infected were young people who were not showing symptoms and it was urgent to 'block the chain of transmission as fast as possible by finding the asymptomatic and averting the spread of the virus among families. 

Since the pandemic erupted, Italy has recorded more than 257,000 cases, including more than 35,000 dead