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  • Data: Italy exceeds 20,000 killed by Covid-19 after adding 566 in the last 24 hours

The daily number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy increases slightly, 602 have been registered today, compared to 566 on Monday. Which means a second consecutive increase, but new infections slow down, according to Reuters. There are 2,972 new people affected by the virus, which is the lowest number since March 13.

The total balance of victims is 21,067, since the pandemic began, according to the Civil Protection Agency, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.

The number of officially confirmed cases rose to 162,488, the third highest world count behind those of the United States and Spain.

There were 3,186 people in intensive care on Tuesday compared to 3,260 on Monday.

"600,000 undocumented must be legalized"

Italy's agriculture minister called on Tuesday for the legalization of 600,000 immigrants to revive important sectors of the economy, affected by the shortage of workers due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports the Afp agency.

"Some 600,000 undocumented immigrants, who are needed to revive the economy , must be legalized , " said Minister Teresa Bellanova of the centrist Italia Viva party, founded by former head of government Matteo Renzi, in a public letter.

"No more informal rooms, no more black workers," proposes the minister. "It is that we do not want to see reality, we discover it only when the irreparable forces us," acknowledges the minister, who fears a crisis in the agricultural sector due to the shortage of seasonal workers.

"It is up to us, the politicians, to face the problem, or the mafia will do it, in its own way," he warned.

According to the main trade union centers, hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreign agricultural workers work without contracts and are heavily exploited. Some of them are subject to the so-called "caporalate" system, a modern form of vassalage, with intermediaries who keep a good part of the low salary they are paid.

The minister's proposal was immediately criticized by the far-right Matteo Salvini League, known for its strong-arm policy against migration and its xenophobia.

"It is a delusional vision of the phenomenon of illegal immigration," lamented the senators of the League.

"How are we going to regularize a continent of illegal immigrants, of which we know nothing, not even of their health conditions, in order to compensate for the lack of labor on our farms, in our fields?" They ask.

The minister's idea is inspired by Portugal, which passed a law that streamlines the legalization of undocumented foreigners and that initially shelters some 30,000 people.

Portugal took this initiative due, in addition, to low birth rates and an aging population, phenomena that also affect Italy.

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