Italy recorded a shocking spike in coronavirus deaths on Friday with 969 new victims, the worst daily record for any country since the pandemic began.

The infection rate however continued its downward trend, with the civil protection agency reporting nearly 86,500 confirmed cases in Italy — a 7.4 per cent increase, down from around 8.0 per cent in previous days.

Prior to Friday’s figure, the largest daily toll was registered on March 21, when 793 people died.

Medical staff get ready to receive a Covid-19 patient at the Spedali Civili Hospital in Brescia. AP

Italy recorded a shocking spike in coronavirus deaths on Friday with 969 new victims, the worst daily record for any country since the pandemic began.

The infection rate however continued its downward trend, with the civil protection agency reporting nearly 86,500 confirmed cases in Italy — a 7.4 per cent increase, down from around 8.0 per cent in previous days.

Prior to Friday’s figure, the largest daily toll was registered on March 21, when 793 people died.

 A member of the medical staff in a protective suit treats a patient in Milan.

The 969 people who died over the last 24 hours compares with 712 deaths on Thursday, 683 on Wednesday, 743 on Tuesday and 602 on Monday.

The total number of confirmed cases rose to 86,498 from a previous 80,539, taking Italy’s total past that of China, where the coronavirus epidemic emerged at the end of last year.

The United States already surpassed China’s tally of cases on Thursday.

In Italy, of those originally infected nationwide, 10,950 had fully recovered on Friday, compared to 10,361 the day before. There were 3,732 people in intensive care against a previous 3,612.