Italy reports 492 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, 14,372 new cases

ROME, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Italy reported 492 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, up from 467 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 14,372 from 15,204.

Some 275,179 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, against a previous 293,770, the health ministry said.

Italy has now registered 87,381 deaths linked to COVID-19 since last February, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the sixth-highest in the world. The country has reported 2.516 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 20,778 on Thursday, compared with 21,161 a day earlier.

There were 102 new admissions to intensive care units, against 115 the day before. The total number of intensive care patients stood at 2,288, down from 2,352 on Wednesday.

When Italy's second wave of the epidemic was accelerating quickly in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by about 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Angelo Amante)