Coronavirus has taken the lives of an additional 793 people in Italy, the most any country has recorded in a 24 hour period since the pandemic began.
Italy overtook China as the country with the most coronavirus -related deaths in the world on Thursday when it registered 3,405 dead.
Since then, a further 1,420 people have died as a result of the virus. The devastating number comes days after concerned Italian doctors warned NHS staff medics could soon become overwhelmed and fall victim to the COVID-19.
Italy is said to be tracking two weeks behind the UK in terms of transmission rate, sparking fears the mortality in the UK could spike.