Coronavirus situation around the world 'worsening', warns WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said that the coronavirus situation in the world is deteriorating and warned nations against complacency.

The WHO has said that it has recorded the highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases after a surge in the American continents.

Coronavirus has infected over 7 million people globally, as per data from the Johns Hopkins University. Currently, 7,006,436 people have had the virus, while 402,699 people have lost their lives to the pandemic, which went global six months ago.

The five worst-affected countries according to JHU tracker are US (1,940,468), Brazil (691,758), Russia (467,073), United Kingdom (287,621), followed by India (257,486).

The WHO has urged protestors around to world to do it safely keeping the pandemic in mind.

"Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference in Geneva.

"More than 100,000 cases have been reported on nine of the past 10 days. Yesterday, more than 136,000 cases were reported -- the most in a single day so far."

Ghebreyesus said that 75 per cent of these cases came from 10 countries which mostly consist from South America and South Asia.

Tedros warned countries where the situation was improving. He said, "The biggest threat is now complacency", adding that "most people globally are still susceptible to infection".

"More than six months into this pandemic, this is not the time for any country to take its foot off the pedal," he said.

Mass protests against racism have broken out in the United States and many European countries after the killing of George Floyd. These protests have sparked fears of a second wave of the virus.

To which WHO chief said: "WHO fully supports equality and the global movement against racism. We reject discrimination of all kinds."

"We encourage all those protesting around the world to do so safely.

"As much as possible, keep at least one metre from others, clean your hands, cover your cough and wear a mask if you attend a protest."

"Stay home if you are sick and contact a health care provider," he added.