FLORENCE, ITALY - MARCH 26: Workers continue to produce orphan drugs and medical cannabis while production of disinfectant has started inside the Stabilimento Chimico Farmaceutico Militare (The Military Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant) for the Coronavirus emergency on March 26, 2020 in Florence, Italy.

The coronavirus death toll has surpassed 8,000 in Italy, erasing some of the hope seen earlier this week when the number of reported deaths seemed to have slowed down.

The southern European country has struggled to contain the virus since the first confirmed cases emerged in February. Italy, which has been in national lockdown since early March, has more than double the number of deaths than China, where the outbreak first emerged in December.

The death toll jumped by 662 on Thursday, according to the latest data compiled by Italy's Civil Protection Agency, bringing the total number to 8,165 from 7,503.

There had been some initial hopes earlier this week that the spread could be slowing down. The death toll on Monday had been the smallest increase in four days. However, that has dissipated with the most recent figures.

As of Thursday, Italy had registered 80,539 cases of COVID-19, of which 10,361 patients have recovered, according to data from the national authorities.

Meanwhile, more than 5,000 people were found to be in breach of the national lockdown rules on Wednesday, according to data from the Italian government. Those breaching lockdown rules could face fines between 400 and 3,000 euros ($440 and $3,300).