Nearly 900 people died from the coronavirus pandemic in Italy on Saturday, propelling the death toll to more than 10,000, prompting the government to consider an extension of the country’s lockdown, media report said.

The number of confirmed cases rose by about 6,000 to 92,472, the second-highest number of cases in the world behind the US, reported The Hill, noting that the country’s lockdown has been active for over three weeks and was set to expire next Friday.

The Lombardy region, which has seen more cases than the rest of the country, recorded 542 new deaths, bringing the total there to 5,944, the report said.

"If one is being reasonable, one cannot envision a quick return to normal life," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said television address.

"I represent a country that is suffering a lot and I cannot afford to procrastinate," Conte added.

“Without these measures, we would be seeing far worse numbers and our health service would be in a far more dramatic state. We would have been in an unsustainable situation,” Angelo Borelli, the head of Italy’s Civil Protection, told reporters on Saturday, according to Reuters.

Officials noted that the toll could have been much worse without the lockdown.

Meanwhile, the US saw the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country pass 2,000 on Saturday, reflecting the doubling of the death toll in two days.