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

According to a tally by an international media agency on March 25, more than 450,000 cases of coronavirus have been officially reported worldwide since the beginning of the 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 the local officials not to hide any new coronavirus cases as the country did not report any locally transmitted infections for several days in a major turnaround in its fight against the deadly pandemic. The country's second-in-command, Li, urged the local governments on March 23 to "seek truth from facts" and be "open and transparent" while dealing with the 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 the coronavirus continues to spread across the world, China has been relaxing social distancing measures as the cases of virus slows there. As per reports, earlier in the week, Wuhan reported no new cases of the coronavirus for the first time since the outbreak began and the checkpoints around the city have been lifted by authorities.

Italy has more than 70,000 cases

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

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