Germany: Coronavirus death toll rises to 432

BERLIN (AA) - Germany registered 73 new coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 432, according to local health authorities.

The Berlin-based website Coronavirus-Monitor, which compiles up-to-date numbers from local health authorities, reported 5,201 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total infections to 56,572.

More than 9,200 patients infected with the virus have so far recovered.

Germany is the third-worst-affected country by the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, but its death toll has so far remained lower than the two hardest-hit countries, Italy and Spain.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government announced on Saturday that it would not ease lockdown measures before April 20, due to continued rise of new infections in the country.

Last week, the government tightened coronavirus restrictions, banning any social contact between more than two people in public. The federal states also ordered all non-essential shops to close, with restaurants restricted to takeaway and delivery service.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 177 countries and territories, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows nearly 680,000 cases have been reported worldwide since last December, with the death toll over 31,700 and more than 145,600 recoveries.