Italian officials say a further 739 coronavirus patients have died in a single day, taking the total number to 4,825, Sky News reported.
The increase of 19.6% was by far the biggest daily rise since the outbreak emerged in the country a month ago.
Italy overtook China on Thursday as the nation to register most deaths from the highly contagious respiratory illness.
The total number of infections in Italy rose to 53,578 from a previous 47,021, which is an increase of 13.9%, the Civil Protection Agency said.