Geneva - The coronavirus pandemic is
accelerating, with Thursday's 150,000 new cases the highest in a
single day and nearly half of them in the Americas, the World
Health Organization (WHO) said.
"The world is in a new and dangerous phase," Director
General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from
WHO headquarters in Geneva. "The virus is still spreading fast,
it is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible."
More than 8.53 million people have been reported infected by
the novel coronavirus globally and 453,834 have died, a Reuters
tally showed as of 1326 GMT on Friday.
Tedros, whose leadership of the WHO has been severely
criticised by U.S. President Donald Trump, urged people to
maintain social distancing and "extreme vigilance."
As well as the Americas, a large number of new cases were
coming from South Asia and the Middle East, Tedros added.