Iran Press/ Europe: Angelo Borelli said 27 more people died from the disease over the past 24 hours with the death toll now surpassing Iran, which has 77 recorded deaths.
Italian authorities on Tuesday confirmed 2,263 coronavirus cases, which marked an increase of 428 infections compared to the previous day.
The figure did not include recoveries or fatalities, whose numbers were provided separately.
"We have 160 people today who have recovered, which marks an increase by 11 cases compared to Monday," Civil Protection Department chief and extraordinary commissioner for the coronavirus emergency Angelo Borrelli told a televised press conference at 6 p.m. local time.
"The total number of fatalities is 79, which shows a rise by 27 cases (also on a daily base)," he added.
As in the latest days, the Health Ministry specified the total of 79 fatalities "will be definitely confirmed only after the Superior Institute of Health will ascertain the effective cause of death."
Coronavirus kills 79 in Italy
Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna remained the regions worst hit by the epidemic -- all three together counting for 88 percent of the 2,263 cases, according to data provided by commissioner Borrelli.
"Of these cases, some 1,000 people are currently under house quarantine, 1,034 are hospitalized with symptoms, and further 229 -- or about 10 percent of all those who are tested positive -- are in intensive care," Borrelli explained.
Under the rules Italy has been implementing to contain and prevent the coronavirus epidemic, people are put under house quarantine when they are asymptomatic, or have light symptoms and do not need hospital treatments.
The increase in deaths was the largest since the outbreak surfaced 12 days ago in the wealthy northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
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