STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After two weeks in a national lockdown, Italy is seeing what officials hope is the light at the end of the tunnel.

For the second day in a row, Italy recorded a decrease of positive cases and fatalities.

On Monday, the peninsula recorded 601 new deaths, 50 fewer than the day before, when 651 deaths were reported, according to data from the Italian government.

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Italy recorded 3,780 new cases on Monday, 177 fewer new positive tests than the day before.

On Sunday, the country also saw a decline, with 142 fewer new deaths than the 793 recorded on Saturday, the data shows.

Overall there were 864 fewer new positive cases on Sunday, with 3,957 new tests as opposed to 4,821 on Saturday.

Lombardia, the northern region with the highest number of cases overall, also saw a decline in hospitalizations with 173 fewer.

We can say that today is the first positive day. It is not yet the moment to say we won, but can finally start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, said Giulio Gallera, the Health Commissioner for the region.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to the media at the Javits Convention Center which is being turned into a hospital to help fight coronavirus cases on March 24, 2020 in New York City. New York City has about a third of the nations confirmed coronavirus cases, making it the center of the outbreak in the United States. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

Not many cars for coronavirus testing in Ocean Beach, 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 25, 2020 (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Spring-like activities continue in the openers of Miller Field. Tuesday, March 25, 2020 (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Spring-like activities continue in the openers of Miller Field. Tuesday, March 25, 2020 (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Construction work in New Dorp Beach goes on. Tuesday, March 25, 2020 (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Paper towels not at ShopRite, Charleston, on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

The front of a New York City bus is cordoned off to keep passengers and the driver separated, Monday, March 23, 2020. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered most New Yorkers to stay home from work to slow the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) AP

People line up outside Elmhurst Hospital Center to be tested for the coronavirus, Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in the Queens borough of New York. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the number of positive coronavirus cases in the state surged to more than 20,000, with more than half the cases in New York City. Cuomo promised 1,000 temporary hospital beds will be swiftly placed inside a vast Manhattan convention center as officials raced to prepare for an overwhelming number of coronavirus patients. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) AP

Journalists practice social distancing during a news conference with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the Jacob Javits Center that will house a temporary hospital in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in New York. Gov. Cuomo sounded his most dire warning yet about the coronavirus pandemic, saying the infection rate in New York is accelerating and the state could be as close as two weeks away from a crisis that projects 40,000 people in intensive care. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) AP

Victory Boulevard and St. Marks Place, bus riders enter the buses starting today from the rear door for the safety of the drivers during the coronavirus pandemic. Monday, March 23, 2020 (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Scott LoBaido erects a thank you sign along Seaview Avenue across from Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze. (Staten Island Advance / James Yates)

Ava Libretti from PS 36 starts her day with the Pledge of Allegiance accompanied by music teacher Mr. LaRocca. New York City schools began remote learning on Monday, March 23, 2020. (Courtesy/Danielle Libretti)

Great Kills residents and realtors Jesse Aronovich and Roman Kats of the Elite Real Estate Team of Mark International Realty, and Jie Qin Zheng or Rockland Improvement, Inc., a local contractor, have collaborated together to donate 2,000 surgical masks to front liners in the battle against the coronavirus crisis. (Staten Island Advance)

All non-essential businesses are to stay closed to curb the spread of COVID-19. Macys in New Springville shut its doors early last week. Monday, March 23, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/ Alexandra Salmieri) - - Alexandra Salmieri

A large thank you sign was put up outside of Richmond University Medical Center. Monday, March 23, 2020 (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Commuters pass through Grand Central Terminal during the morning rush hour, Monday, March 23, 2020, in New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered most New Yorkers to stay home from work to slow the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) AP

Times Square, which is usually very crowded on a weekday morning, is mostly empty Monday, March 23, 2020 in New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered most New Yorkers to stay home from work to slow the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) AP

U.S. National Guard members walk through the Jacob Javits Center, Monday, March 23, 2020, in New York. New York City hospitals are just 10 days from running out of "really basic supplies," Mayor Bill de Blasio said late Sunday. De Blasio has called upon the federal government to boost the city's quickly dwindling supply of protective equipment. The city also faces a potentially deadly dearth of ventilators to treat those infected by the coronavirus. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) AP

Most of the stores in the Pergament Enterprises Mall shopping center in New Springville had to close when Gov. Cuomo initiated P.A.U.S.E throughout New York State. Monday, March 23, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/ Alexandra Salmieri) - - Alexandra Salmieri

Italy overall has recorded 63,927 cases, 6,077 deaths and 7,432 recoveries, according to the data.

The Advance/SILive.com previously reported on how Venetians are dealing with the lockdown.

Its like being at war, said Stefano Spezzamonte, who works in Venice and whose daughter is an Advance/SILive.com reporter.

Veneto is currently the third region with the highest number of cases in Italy with 5,505 positive cases and 192 deaths.

Emilia Romagna is the second region overall with 8,535 cases and 892 deaths.

SHOCKING HOSPITAL FOOTAGE

Meanwhile, footage by Sky News posted on March 19 shows the critical status of packed hospitals in the country as they attempt to treat patients.

It includes disturbing scenes of critically-ill patients being treated as doctors fight to save their lives.

What we are living are heavy and difficult days. All of us are making small and big sacrifices, giving up habits and [contact with] our loved ones, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. But this is a battle we win remaining united.

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The coronavirus in Italy: Sobering hospital video; signs of progress? - SILive.com