Italy finds 1,444 more virus patients from testing

Every Italian region reported new coronavirus patients after a record 99,000 tests turned up another 1,444 patients.

The health ministry says one more victim of  the virus brought Italy’s official death toll to 35,473 on Saturday.

Italy has nearly doubled its daily tests this month amid a surge in new infections, mostly among young people returning from vacation. While most are asymptomatic, the number of people requiring hospitalization and intensive care is creeping back up.

Italy, the onetime European epicenter of the virus, plans to start school on September 14. Unlike other European countries, Italy never reopened schools last spring.-AP