ROME 

Italy on Sunday reported 433 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, lower than the previous day, bringing the total number of fatalities to 23,660, as thedeath rate continues to slow down.

According to the latest data released by the Italian Civil Protection Department, current infections grew 0.4% from Saturday -- lower than the previous day -- to reach 108,257.

Recoveries have climbed to 47,055, while the number of intensive care patients has been dropping for more than two weeks, easing pressure on the country's struggling healthcare system.

The epicenter of the Italian outbreak remains the northern Lombardy region, which now counts 12,213 fatalities, more than half the total.

The government continues to struggle with planning the recovery phase and protecting Italy's fragile economy, which faces a contraction of 9% in 2020.

The debate on how to handle the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic -- which will start on May 4 -- has heated up, with growing friction among the regions.

After meeting regional governors, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte pledged that he would provide a clear outline in the next few days on how the government intends to start lifting the nationwide lockdown.

"Local representatives have supported the intention of the government to adopt a national plan that will include homogenous guidelines for all regions, which will allow to proceed -- reasonably on May 4 -- with a restart of productive activities," Conte said Sunday on Facebook.

He stressed, however, that the government plan would have to balance public health measures with the need to restart production.

The curve of deaths and infections has been flattening in Italy since the peak of the outbreak in March.

However, experts have repeatedly warned that resuming all activities without meeting high sanitary standards and social distancing rules would increase the risk of a rebound in the virus spread.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the U.S. are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 162,000 people, with total infections exceeding 2.35 million, while more than 605,100 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.