As hospitals across Italy continue to battle to save their influx of coronavirus patients, the number of deaths in the country has now surpassed that in China.

In less than a month the number who have died of Covid-19 in Italy has passed 6,000, as those who were infected in the early stages of the outbreak begin to succumb to the disease.

Meanwhile the number of deaths in the UK continue to rise. It has now been two weeks since the first confirmed death from coronavirus in the UK - and since then the number who have died has been rising at a faster rate than in Italy.

It highlights the urgency needed to arrest the spread of the disease before the NHS becomes overwhelmed and is unable to cope.

Deaths rising fastest in UK and Spain

The average daily rate of increase (in percentage terms) in the UK is now rising faster than Italy, according to the latest figures.

10 days after Italy recorded its first death, the number had risen to 197. When the UK reached the same point in the outbrek - on Sunday, March 22, the death toll had risen to 281.

While Italy recorded the highest death toll in a single day since the outbreak began on Saturday, with 793 deaths, the rate of increase has been slowing.

Since the country began seeing coronavirus deaths in double figures, it has continued to rise by a daily average of 35%.

Over the last week that has fallen to less than 20%, with the jump to 5,476 on Friday an 18% daily increase.