The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic to "wake up" to the situation on the ground and to "take control" of the spread of the virus.
"People need to wake up. The data is not lying. The situation on the ground is not lying," Michael Ryan, WHO emergencies director, told reporters here on Friday.
The World Health Organisation's emergencies chief says "we need to put up a fight now" during a peak in the current wave of the coronavirus - rather than focusing on when a second wave might come.
Dr. Michael Ryan said the world will be much better at fighting a second wave, if people can learn the lessons of fighting the first wave.
WHO officials emphasised mask-wearing, social distancing, and hygiene by individuals, along with contact-tracing and tracking of cases by health authorities as key strategies to fight the virus.
