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World Health Organization Declares Coronavirus Crisis A Pandemic

ROME (AP/KDKA) - The World Health Organization is declaring that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic.

The assessment comes as Italy is weighing even tighter restrictions on daily life and has announced billions in financial relief to cushion economic shocks from the coronavirus.

Premier Giuseppe Conte says he will consider requests to toughen an already extraordinary lockdown. The hardest-hit region of Lombardy is pushing for a shutdown of nonessential businesses and public transportation on top of travel and social restrictions.

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The death toll in Italy has risen to 631. In the U.S., more than 1,000 people have been infected.

As of Wednesday at noon, there were 15 confirmed cases in Pennsylvania, all in the eastern part of the state.

(TM and © Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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