Rome, Nov 17 (IANS): Italy's coronavirus "contagion curve is stabilising" after the number of daily cases fell for a third consecutive day, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said.

On Monday, there were 27,354 new cases, the third consecutive drop since reaching an all-time high of 40,902 infections on November 13, reports Xinhua news agency.

Daily deaths stood at 504 on Monday, down from 546 a day earlier and a peak of 636 on November 12. The mortality rate remained below the one-day high of 921 recorded in March.

The two new tallies increased the overall caseload and death toll to 1,205,881 and 45,733, respectively.

On Monday, Speranza told the La Stampa newspaper that he "remains very cautious" but adding that government analysts "tell us the contagion curve is stabilizing".

"It is still early and we are waiting for more data. But we have reason to believe the latest measures we have adopted are beginning to produce results," he added.

While the infection and mortality rates have climbed in recent weeks, so has the recovery rate.

Over the last 24 hours, 21,554 Italians were marked as having recovered from Covid-19, a record-high number equivalent to nearly 5 per cent of the 442,364 recoveries recorded since the start of the pandemic.