In the last 24 hours, 837 people have died in Italy from the Chinese coronavirus, bringing the nation’s overall death toll to 12,428 as of Tuesday — an increase of 7.2 per cent in one day. The percentage, however, has been on a decline for the past few days, while some Italian officials say they believe that Italy has reached its “peak.”

Newly released data from Italy’s Civil Protection reveals that the country’s death toll from the virus has risen from 11,591 on Monday to 12,428 on Tuesday.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has also risen from 101,739 to 105,792. The newly confirmed cases of the virus, however, have been showing a slight decline for the past five days.

“We have reached the peak of the infections,” said the head of Italy’s Superior Health Institute, Silvio Brusaferro, according to a report by La Repubblica.

“The curve shows us that it seems we are reaching a sort of plateau — the phase in which the peak remains stable for a certain period,” he added. “This figure that shows us that the measures are working.”

Brusaferro added that while they believe Italy has reached its peak with regards to the Wuhan coronavirus, now is not the time for people to let their guards down.

“We can’t give up or the epidemic can start again,” he said.

Meanwhile, the south of Italy is bracing itself by “preparing for the worst” so that it does not end up facing the same crisis that the country’s northern regions have suffered.

“You have to prepare in time for the worst and the risk of a wave,” said University of Milan professor and virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco.

“At the moment, the outbreaks in the south appear more restricted, and the hope is to be able to improve control to prevent such centers of contagion from expanding further,” he added.

“We hope that the numbers in the South with the right behaviors, they can be maintained,” said the head of Italy’s Civil Protection Angelo Borrelli, answering a question about regions where there are fewer coronavirus cases, reports La Repubblica.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.