Rome, May 29 (IANS): The novel coronavirus infection trend continued downward in Italy as the number of recoveries jumped by 3,503 on Thursday, bringing the total to 150,604, the Civil Protection Department said.

Meanwhile, another 70 people died, bringing the death toll from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, to 33,142 on Thursday.

The total active infections stood at 47,986, down by 2,980 from Wednesday, according to the department, Xinhua reported.

The Lombardy region, where the pandemic officially first broke out in late February, still had the lion's share of cases with 22,913 active infections.

At the other end of the spectrum was the northern Valle d'Aosta region in the Alps with 23 cases.

Of those who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, 489 are in intensive care, down by 16 compared to Wednesday, and 7,379 are hospitalized with symptoms, down by 350.

The rest -- 40,118 people, or 84 per cent of those who tested positive -- are isolated at home because they are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms.

The overall number of coronavirus infections, fatalities and recoveries has risen by 593 to 231,732 over the past 24 hours.

As the pandemic visibly slowed down in recent weeks, Italy further eased the lockdown on May 18. Shops, restaurants, bars, barbershops, beauty salons, museums, and beachfront operators were all allowed to reopen, provided that they respect rules for social distancing and disinfect facilities.