The numbers are dizzying. Four hundred and thirty-three. Six hundred and twenty-seven. Seven hundred and ninety-three.

For weeks now, the daily briefings by Italy's civil protection agency have been providing grim updates on the number of people killed by COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, deepening a sense of gloom in a country that has become the deadliest centre of the pandemic.

Despite a series of near-draconian measures gradually rolled out to halt the spread of the virus, including a nationwide lockdown and the shutdown of all non-essential businesses, Italy has been unable to "flatten the curve" - slowing the spread of the contagion in a bid to prevent an already overburdened healthcare system from being overrun.

The country's latest tally reported a total of 6,078 deaths from 63,928 infections, with a world-leading fatality rate of more than 9 percent.

In contrast, in China, where the outbreak originated, the mortality rate stands at 3.8 percent. In Germany, which has reported more than 24,000 cases and 94 deaths, it is at 0.3 percent.