WHO urges countries to wake up, take control of COVID-19 spread

GENEVA - World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries hit by coronavirus disease to wake up to pandemic situation on the ground and to take control of spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Talking to reporters in Geneva, WHO Emergencies Director Michael Ryan said if countries proceed with opening up without the capacity to cope with likely caseload then you end up in a worst-case scenario otherwise more people will die.

Earlier, the WHO had warned that countries that do not use every option available to them to tackle novel coronavirus pandemic likely to face a long, hard road ahead to beat the disease.