Coronavirus cases cross 470,000 worldwide, death toll stands at 21,297

According to a tally by an international media ncy on March 25, more than 450,000 cases of coronavirus have been officially reported worldwide since beginning of deadly pandemic. As per international media reports, at least 471,794 cases of infection along with 21,297 deaths have been reported in 198 countries and territories with China having 81,285 total cases and 3,287 deaths followed by Italy with 74,386 cases and 7,503 deaths. 

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Chinese premier warns local officials

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has reportedly warned local officials t to hide any new coronavirus cases as country did t report any locally transmitted infections for several days in a major turnaround in its fight against deadly pandemic. country's second-in-command, Li, urged local governments on March 23 to "seek truth from facts" and be "open and transparent" while dealing with deadly outbreak. A government statement posted online on March 24 reportedly said that being transparent and open means any new case of COVID-19 should be reported without any concealings or underreporting.

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While coronavirus continues to spread across world, China has been relaxing social distancing measures as cases of virus slows re. As per reports, earlier in week, Wuhan reported new cases of coronavirus for first time since outbreak began and checkpoints around city have been lifted by authorities.

Italy has more than 70,000 cases

On or hand, number of coronavirus cases in Italy is probably 10 times higher than official tally of more than 70,000, according to head of country’s civil protection ncy. Italy is worst-affected country by coronavirus in world as deadly virus has claimed more than 7,000 lives in country, which is double number of fatalities in China. It is believed that as testing for disease has been limited to people seeking hospital care, thousands of cases have certainly gone undetected. 

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