Italy’s coronavirus death toll surged past 23,000 on Saturday as 482 people died of coronavirus in the country in the past 24 hours, official data showed on Saturday.

The COVID-19 has claimed another 602 lives in locked-down Italy over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries to 162,488 since the pandemic began here in late February, the country's Civil Protection Department said Tuesday.

The coronavirus claimed 20,465 lives in locked-down Italy as of Monday, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries to 159,516, according released by its Civil Protection Department.

With warmer weather beckoning, Italians are straining against a strict lockdown to halt the coronavirus that is just now showing signs of ebbing at the end of five weeks of mass isolation.

The coronavirus epidemic continued to spread in locked-down Italy on Sunday with total cumulative number of infected cases reaching 59,138 and deaths reaching 5,476, according to the latest data released by the Civil Protection Department.

Italy reported 6,557 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, raising the total to 53,578 since the pandemic first broke out in its north on Feb. 21, according to the latest data provided by the Civil Protection Department managing the COVID-19 emergency.