ROME, March 24 — The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has grown by 602 to 6,077, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said yesterday, the smallest rise in numerical terms since Thursday, suggesting a clear downward trend.

The Civil Protection Agency initially said 601 people died yesterday, but the agency head told reporters the real number was 602. However, the agency said in a subsequent statement that a death had been wrongly added to Sunday's total, meaning the total tally yesterday was 6,077 not 6,078.

The total number of confirmed cases in Italy rose to 63,927 yesterday from a previous 59,138, an increase of 8 per cent, the Civil Protection Agency said — the lowest rise in percentage terms since the contagion came to light on February 21.

Of those originally infected nationwide, 7,432 had fully recovered yesterday compared to 7,024 the day before. There were 3,204 people in intensive care against a previous 3,009.

The hardest-hit northern region of Lombardy remained in a critical situation, with a total of 3,776 deaths and 28,761 cases. That compared with 3,456 deaths and 27,206 cases reported up to Sunday. — Reuters