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CORONAVIRUS: Italy’s death toll now 735 as Algeria suspends protests for the first time over COVID-19 fears

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Health officials in Italy have confirmed that the death toll arising from the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus also known as COVID-19 has leaped by 793 to 4,825 as the country becomes the new epicentre of the outbreak.

The country’s Civil Protection Agency said late on Saturday the total number of coronavirus cases in Italy rose to 53,578 from a previous 47,021, an increase of 13.9 percent, as the virus continues to spread.

According to reports, the northern region of Lombardy remains the hardest-hit with 3,095 deaths and 25,515 cases so far with the country reporting 1,420 deaths since Friday.

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On Thursday, it overtook China as the country to registered most deaths from the highly contagious virus.

In a related development, weekly anti-government protests for the first time in more than a year has been called off to curb the possible spread of the virus in the North African country.

Reports say authorities banned the demonstrations, but opposition activists also urged supporters to stay inside in what could have been the 57th week in a row that Algerians came out onto the streets to protest against government.

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