The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says the coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating”.
Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases, and just four days for the third 100,000 cases.”
He said he would address G20 heads of state and government this week to ask them to work together to boost production of protective gear.
However, Italy has reported another 602 deaths from coronavirus, Reuters news agency says.
That brings the total death toll up to 6,078 – but it means that the daily number of deaths has fallen for the second day in a row, down from 651 on Sunday.
Crucially, our Rome correspondent Mark Lowen says, the rise in new infections has slowed again, from 9 to 8.1%.
