ROME, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Italy reported a record 144,243 COVID-19 related cases on Friday, following 126,888 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell slightly to 155 from 156. Italy has registered 137,402 deaths linked to COVID-19 since February 2020, and has reported 6.125 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 11,150 on Friday, up from 10,866 a day earlier. There were 119 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 134 on Thursday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 1,260 from a previous 1,226. A record 1.22 million tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the last day, compared with 1.15 million the previous day, the health ministry said.