At least 793 more virus deaths in Italy, over 6,500 new cases in 24-hour record

ROME, Italy — The coronavirus pandemic took an increasingly bleak toll Saturday as Italy’s tally of cases and deaths keeps rising, with new day-to-day highs: 793 dead and 6,557 new cases.

Italy, which has Europe’s largest outbreak, now has at least 4,835 total dead.

More than 60 percent of the latest deaths occurred in the northern region of Lombardy, where hospitals have been reeling, intensive care beds hard to find and respirators in short supply. Italy has seen a total of 53,578 cases overall, and the new increases come nearly two weeks into a national lockdown.

Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza called for a “great alliance” between citizens and institutions, saying “what counts more is the behavior of every individual.” Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan, capital of the hardest-stricken region of Lombardy, tried to rally the city’s 1.4 million citizens, tweeting that “by now, we have understood, this is a marathon, not a sprint.”