Italy has reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in one day, with 919 deaths announced on Friday.

It has also surpassed China in the number of confirmed cases, with 86,498 cases compared to China’s 81,897, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Agency.

The hardest-hit region of Lombardy reported a sharp rise in fatalities compared with the day before, with 541 more deaths.

Italy has the highest death toll of any country, recording 9,134 deaths. Prior to Friday’s figure, the largest daily death toll was reported on 21 March, when 793 people were said to have died.

Some 10,950 of those infected in the country had fully recovered on Friday, compared to 10,361 the day before.

The second worst-hit nation, Spain, said the number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the country has risen by 769 in one day, taking the total to 4,858.

The number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease in Spain also went up on Friday from 56,188 to 64,059, according to the national health ministry.

Spain ranks fourth for the number of confirmed cases worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US took the lead on Thursday evening and has had more than 90,000 positive tests on Friday, moving ahead of China, where the disease originally emerged back in December.