Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday supported a government plan to gradually ease restrictions imposed over the coronavirus crisis, warning that any haste in removing preventative measures could undo their work so far.

Putin made the remarks when chairing a meeting with regional heads via a video link amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the country's coronavirus crisis response center on Wednesday, the number of coronavirus cases had risen by more than 10,000 over the past 24 hours for a fourth consecutive day and stood at 165,929.

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