ROME — The number of people in Italy who died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours sank to 145 on Sunday — the lowest number since Italy’s lockdown went into effect.

That brings to 31,908 the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Italy.

The contagion in the first country in Europe to be hit by the virus also has slowed significantly, with just 675 confirmed new cases, according to the country’s civil protection agency.

The true scope of the pandemic in Italy is believed to be much higher as testing is still restricted mostly to people showing symptoms who need to be hospitalized.

The number of currently infected people dropped under 70,000, while more than 125,000 have recovered from the virus.

Pressure on hospitals continues to ease, with 13 fewer patients in intensive care and 89 fewer people hospitalized — important milestones as Italy prepares to open bars, restaurants, shops and other activities on Monday.