A province in eastern China has been accused of covering up the true scale of its coronavirus outbreak by seriously under-reporting the number of its daily cases.

The health crisis in Shandong Province is up to 52 times worse than officials have admitted, a report revealed today.

Between February 9 and 23, the daily infection figure in the region greatly exceeded the official data, with the margin ranging from 1.36 to 52 times, the article said.

The health crisis in Shandong Province is up to 52 times worse than officials have admitted. The picture shows patients being treated in a temporary hospital in Wuhan, China

A Chinese medical worker is pictured checking a patient infected by the novel coronavirus

The shocking revelation was made today by The Epoch Times, a US-based Chinese-language newspaper backed by the Falungong movement.

The outlet claimed to have obtained internal documents from the Shandong Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).

Although the regional government claimed that there were a total of 755 patients in the province as of yesterday, the leaked papers showed that 1,992 people had tested positive by February 23.

The picture shows an overview of the temporary hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus

A group of Chinese doctors are pictured looking at a lung CT image at a hospital in Hubei

And on February 22, a total of 61 patients - instead of the officially stated four - were diagnosed with the deadly disease.

While Beijing claims that the number of cases outside Hubei has been decreasing to single digits in the past week, Shandong Province alone confirmed 274 new sufferers on February 20, the article said.

MailOnline cannot independently verify the authenticity of the claims.

The news comes after a worrying outbreak was detected inside a prison in Shandong.

The picture shows a medical worker in protective gears inspecting a CT scan image in Wuhan

Chinese medics are pictured working at a makeshift hospital in Wuhan during the outbreak

Seven guards and 200 inmates last week tested positive for the virus at Rencheng prison, the provincial health commission confirmed.

Xie Weijun, head of Shandong's justice department, was sacked over the outbreak along with seven other prison officials.

Wu Lei, director of Shandong's prison administration, said the new cases showed that 'the implementation of our prevention and control measures has not been effective'.

State newspaper People's Daily said the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Chinese authority for political and legal affairs, had set up a special team to investigate the outbreak in the prison in Shandong.

It also comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday hit out at China and Iran for their response to the outbreak of coronavirus, accusing the two governments of censorship and of trying to cover up the severity of the spread of the deadly illness.

Pompeo assailed Beijing for expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters and said a free press was needed to ensure accurate information about the virus is available to the public and medical personnel.

It also comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pictured) on Tuesday hit out at China and Iran for their response to the outbreak of coronavirus, accusing them of censorship

'Expelling our journalists exposes once again the government's issue that led to SARS and now the coronavirus, namely censorship. It can have deadly consequences,' Pompeo said of China.

'Had China permitted its own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge,' he told reporters at a State Department news conference.

Beijing rebuked Pompeo's 'groundless' allegations.

Geng Shuang (pictured), a spokesperson at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged Pompeo to abandon his 'cold war mentality' and 'do more things that would fit for his position'

Geng Shuang, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged Pompeo to abandon his 'cold war mentality' and 'do more things that would fit for his position'.

Originating in Wuhan, the new coronavirus - known as COVID-19 - has infected more than 78,000 people inside China.

Hubei, situated in central China, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the confirmed cases and 95 per cent of the deaths globally.

The new coronavirus - known as COVID-19 - has infected more than 78,000 people in China

City authorities around China have demanded citizens wear masks while out as a basic measure to prevent coronavirus. The picture shows people travelling on the train in Shanghai

Wuhan, the provincial capital with 11 million residents, went into lockdown on January 23 in the wake of the outbreak. The majority part of Hubei then followed suit.

Overnight, the Hubei health officials reported 401 new cases out of a nationwide total of 406 and all 52 new deaths from the country.

Outbreaks outside of China, however, have escalated in the past few days. Dozens of countries are now battling the contagion, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected.

Globally, the coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 2,771 people, infected more than 81,400 and spread to at least two dozen countries.