coronavirus victims
© Reuters / Flavio Lo Scalzo
In what it's hoped will become a positive trend, Italy has reported a drop in Covid-19-related fatalities for a second consecutive day. Yet, the number of cases there has climbed to over 60,000.

The country's death toll currently stands at 6,078, health officials said late on Monday. The daily number of deaths appears to be dropping - 602 new deaths were registered, compared to 651 on Sunday and a whopping 793 on Saturday.

The total number of confirmed cases in Italy has risen to 63,927, constituting an eight percent increase from a previous 59,138.

While the numbers are staggering, it's actually the lowest rise in percentage terms registered in the country since February 21. The region of Lombardy remains the hotbed of the virus in Italy, with the majority of deaths and nearly a half of the nation's cases originating there.

Italy is enduring the worst of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, and its number of deaths has already greatly surpassed the toll the virus reached in China. Italian authorities imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 12, in an attempt to curb the infection spread.

Since Sunday, Russia has been sending medical aid to Italy to help the nation fight the outbreak. A large team, made up of dozens of military medics and disease experts, as well as mobile laboratories, disinfection trucks and testing kits, have been airlifted there by Russian military cargo planes.