ROME — Italy on Friday reported 243 more coronavirus-related deaths and 1,327 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide fatalities and infections to 30,201 and 217,185 respectively, according to the latest data released by the country"s Civil Protection Department. Marking a grim milestone, Italy now has the third highest number of registered coronavirus deaths in the world, after the United States and the United Kingdom. The UK passed the 30,000 mark on Wednesday. Spain is Europe"s third worst-affected country with more than 26,000 deaths. People registered as currently carrying the illness in Italy fell to 87,961 from 89,624 the day before. There were 1168 people in intensive care on Friday against 1311 on Thursday, maintaining a long-running decline. Of those originally infected, 99,023 were declared recovered against 96,276 a day earlier. Italy was the first country in Europe to impose a lockdown when coronavirus cases first started to surface in northern regions in February. It has now begun to ease restrictions, although pictures shared on social media of people ignoring distancing rules and not wearing protective masks in busy areas have led to an outcry. — Agencies