Rome, Jul 30 (IANS): Italian health authorities have warned that the country's coronavirus infection rate were reaching its highest level since mid-May, while the mortality rate increased after 15 consecutive weeks of declines.

On Thursday, the Health Ministry reported 6,171 new infections, the highest one-day figure since mid-May, reports Xinhua news agency.

But that is still far below the daily peaks of more than 25,000 in March 2020 and more than 40,000 in November 2020.

With 19 Covid fatalities recorded on Thursday, the daily toll has not surpassed 35 registered during the last month.

With the new increases, the country's overall caseload and death toll currently stood at 4,336,906 and 128,029.

But the GIMBE Foundation, a health monitoring group that issues weekly reports on the country's coronavirus situation, said on Thursday that the weekly death toll was 111, up from 76 a week earlier and the first time the weekly figure rose after 15 weeks of declines.

The Foundation also said there was a 42 per cent increase in the total number of active cases in the country, topping 70,000, compared to just over 49,000 a week earlier.

News reports attributed the rise to the continued spread of the high-transmissible Delta variant of the virus, combined with increased social activity in the country.

Keeping the numbers at least partially in check is the country's vaccine rollout program, which continues to be among the most effective in Europe.

Till date, the country had completely vaccinated over 31.6 million people, the equivalent of 58.6 per cent of the population aged 12 or older.