He spoke after health officials said authorities needed to do more now to fight the pandemic since forecasts suggest the number of new infections will continue to accelerate.
We are at a tipping point in this pandemic. Not only is the second wave under way, (but) yesterday we hit the highest daily record for cases.
The last time Italy saw more than 5,000 cases in a day was on was on March 29, with 5,217 infections reported in the middle of a nationwide lockdown. On that same day, some 756 people died.
Officials said 201 people had died in the last 24 hours, taking the official death toll to 22,257. Russia's record daily rise before Friday was 11,656 cases on May 11.
In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases in the Philippines have increased to 334,770, the highest toll in Southeast Asia, and fatalities to 6,152.
China has at least four experimental vaccines in final stages of clinical trials, and is also in talks with the WHO to have its domestically made vaccines assessed for international use.
The Gulf state's beaches will also be closed until further notice, state media said, reporting a decision from the supreme council in charge of coronavirus policy.
This means they will have to close their bars for two weeks in coming days, as Paris did on Tuesday and Marseille, France's second-biggest city, did earlier this month.
Unfortunately, the health situation in France continues to deteriorate.