Coffins are downloaded at the Ferrara cemetery, from a military convoy coming from Bergamo, a city at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, March 21. Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP

The coronavirus death toll in Italy has risen by 793 in the past 24 hours to 4,825 , the Italian Civil Protection Agency said Saturday.

That was an almost 20% on Friday’s figure and was the biggest one-day spike since the outbreak began.

The worst-affected region is Lombardy, where 3,095 people have died from the virus.

Italy's confirmed cases total rose by 6,557 to 53,578 .

Higher than China: Italy's death toll is now higher than that of China, where the outbreak started.

According to China's National Health Commission, the country has had 81,054 confirmed cases and 3,261 deaths. In mainland China, 72,244 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital.