With 150,000 new cases, the highest spike in a single day as reported on Thursday, "the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating globally", said World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"The world is in a new and dangerous phase," said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva. "The virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible," he added. He also urged people to maintain social distancing and extreme vigilance.

More than 454,000 people have died as a result of the newcoronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. At least8.4 million people have been confirmed to have the coronavirus around the worldand more than four million have recovered, a Reuters report said.