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March 12, 2020

Top Italian Health Official Among 827 Coronavirus Dead as Italy Faces "Darkest Hour"
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In Italy, where 60 million people are under an unprecedented nationwide
lockdown, the death toll has increased to at least 827. Authorities have
ordered all shops closed except food markets and pharmacies. Italy's
economy has all but ground to a halt, with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
describing the outbreak as the country's "darkest hour." Among the
recent dead is Roberto Stella, the head of the medical association in
the northern Italian province of Varese.

In Germany, where there have been about 2,000 confirmed cases so far,
Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the majority of the German people are
likely to contract the virus.

Chancellor Angela Merkel: "When the virus is out there, the population
has no immunity, and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70% of the population
will be infected, as long as the situation continues to exist."



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