ROME (Reuters) - The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has risen in the last 24 hours by 345 to 2,503, an increase of 16%, the Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday.

The total number of cases in Italy, the European country hardest hit by the virus, rose to 31,506 from a previous 27,980, up 12.6%, the slowest rate of increase since the contagion came to light on Feb. 21.

Of those originally infected, 2,941 had fully recovered compared to 2,749 the day before. Some 2,060 people were in intensive care against a previous 1,851.