MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. /TASS/. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy has increased by 3,786 in the past day, the country's healthcare ministry said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases increased by 2,667. On Thursday, the death toll grew by 525, which showed a slight decrease from the day before (578). The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy surpassed 168,900, and the death toll reached 22,170.

In the past day, 2,072 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 40,000.

Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, 127 doctors died from COVID-associated illnesses and complications.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 2,000,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 126,800 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 485,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.