(Bloomberg) --
Italy posted the fewest virus fatalities in almost six weeks as the government paved the way for a new stimulus package to revive an economy stalled by containment measures.
Civil defense authorities Saturday reported 415 deaths linked to the virus for the 24-hour period -- the fewest since March 17 -- compared with 420 the day before. That brings the total number of fatalities to 26,384.
There were 2,357 new cases compared with 3,021 a day earlier. That left total cases at 105,847. The number of recovered patients was 2,622.
The data come weeks into a nationwide lockdown that spurred Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's cabinet earlier Friday to request parliamentary authorization to broaden the country's deficit by 55 billion euros ($59.5 billion) ahead of new spending, officials said. That is more than an initial 25 billion-euro program last month.
Conte is preparing to start easing the lockdown in the original European epicenter of the outbreak from May 4. Companies in the manufacturing, automotive and construction industries will be the first to restart activities, depending on health and safety measures.
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