Coronavirus death toll in Italy's Lombardy rises by more than 385 in a day: source

FILE PHOTO: Italian military trucks and soldiers are seen by Bergamo's cemetery after the army were deployed to move coffins from the cemetery to neighbouring provinces, after the cemetery was overwhelmed by the scale of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bergamo, Italy, March 18, 2020. Sergio Agazzi.Fotogramma via REUTERS

The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy's contagion, has risen by more than 385 in a day to around 4,860, a source familiar with the data said on Thursday.

The figure is up steeply compared to 296 deaths on Wednesday.

The number of cases in the region, which includes Italy's financial capital Milan, increased by some 2,543 to roughly 34,890, the source said. On Wednesday, 1,643 new cases were registered.

The nationwide tally will be released around 6.00 p.m. (1700 GMT). On Wednesday, the national death toll stood at 7,503, the highest in the world.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Crispian Balmer)