BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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CAPE TOWN -- South Africa reported on Sunday a sharp surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, two days after the easing of restrictions following a five-week lockdown.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa stood at 6,783, an increase of 447 from Saturday, the country's health minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement.

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WUHAN -- No new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in central China's Hubei Province Sunday, the provincial health commission said Monday.

This marks that Hubei has reported no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 30 consecutive days since April 4.

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KAMPALA -- Uganda's ministry of health on Sunday warned of social media reports alleging strong immunity among Ugandans and other Africans against COVID-19, saying such rumors are causing laxity in the fight against the pandemic.

Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the ministry of health, said in a tweet that the public should disregard such unproven theories, which pose a serious risk of undermining the country's efforts to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak.

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NEW YORK -- Global confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 3.5 million on Sunday, reaching 3,502,126 as of 7 p.m. (2300 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

A total of 247,107 people worldwide have died of the disease, according to the CSSE.

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OTTAWA -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an allotment of 240 million Canadian dollars (about 168 million U.S. dollars) on Sunday for moving mental health and primary care services online during the COVID-19 crisis.

During his press conference on Sunday, Trudeau said a new mental health platform will provide strategies for managing stress with specific help for those from marginalized communities.

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PARIS -- Figures released by the French Health Ministry on Sunday showed that coronavirus-linked fatalities in the country rose up by 135 to 24,895, representing the lowest daily toll since March 22.

Among the 25,815 hospitalized patients, 3,819 were in intensive care units (ICUs), down from 3,827 on Saturday, confirming a continued slowdown for the third running week.

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ROME -- On the eve of the easing of the eight-week national lockdown, Italy's daily new deaths from COVID-19 dropped to 174 on Sunday, the lowest level since the start of the lockdown on March 10.

Italy is set to ease its lockdown measures beginning on Monday. The new rules will allow Italians to visit family members living in the same region, and bars and restaurants to offer takeaway options instead of delivery only during the lockdown.

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ANKARA -- Turkey's total confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 126,045, with 1,670 new patients reported in the last 24 hours, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Sunday.

The death toll from the novel coronavirus in Turkey reached 3,397 after 61 more lost their lives over the past 24 hours, Koca tweeted.

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CAIRO -- The Egyptian health ministry confirmed on Sunday 272 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number in the country to 6,465.

Meanwhile, 14 patients died from the novel coronavirus on Sunday, raising the death toll to 429, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

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LONDON -- Another 315 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain, bringing the total novel coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 28,446, Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove said Sunday.

The figures include deaths in hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

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QUITO -- Ecuador has registered a total of 29,538 COVID-19 cases and 1,564 deaths, with 2,074 new cases and 193 new deaths occurring in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Public Health announced on Sunday.

Minister of Health Juan Carlos Zevallos said that Ecuador has also registered 1,312 deaths that were likely caused by COVID-19. Enditem

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