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ROME — Italy is a safe country for tourism, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday, despite the recent coronavirus outbreak.

“Italy is a safe country for travel and for tourism, probably safer than many others,” Conte told a news conference.

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The number of cases in Italy, the country in Europe worst affected, rose to more than 280, with 40 new cases reported in Lombardy and nine new ones in Veneto.

The number of deaths was unchanged at seven. (Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Gavin Jones)