The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy rose by 793 to 4,825 on Saturday, according to officials.

The figures represent the the highest day-to-day rise in the number of deaths since the virus broke out a month ago. On Friday, 475 deaths were recorded in a single day. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Italy rose to 53,578 from a previous figure of 47,021.

Italy has already surpassed China as the country to register most deaths globally from the virus despite extensive measures to prevent the disease from spreading.

The northern region of Lombardy is the country's worst affected area clocking up 47 percent of all the country's infections.

The death toll in the region rose by 546 in a day to 3,095, officials said on Saturday.

The overall number of people who have died due to the coronavirus in Europe has surpassed 5,000.