COVID-19 has nearly doubled in 48 hours in Italy

ROME: Infections by the new coronavirus has nearly doubled in the last 48 hours in Italy, the head of the country's civil protection body said Sunday.

Since the start of the epidemic, 1,694 people have tested postive for COVID-19 including those who have died and those who have recovered, Angelo Borrelli told a press briefing.

As of Friday, the figure was 888.

Five more people died on Sunday, bringing Italy's death toll to 34 -- all in the northern regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto.

Of 779 people who were still in hospital on Sunday, 140 were in intensive care, Borrelli said.

On Saturday there were 506 COVID-19 patients in hospital, of whom 105 were in intensive care.

Borrelli said 83 people have recovered from the disease since the start of the epidemic.