The global coronavirus pandemic "is not even close to being over," the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the warning on Monday — a day before the six-month anniversary of the first reports of a cluster of cases in China last year.
The landmark date coincides with worldwide Covid-19 fatalities hitting 500,100 and reported cases passing 10.1 million.
It also comes as countries around the world begin to lift their lockdowns after months of economically crippling social-distancing measures.
However, WHO have repeatedly urged governments to proceed with caution amid fears of further waves.
And South Korea and China appear to now be battling with a second outbreak.
Dr Tedros told a WHO press conference on Monday that the pandemic “is not even close to being over”.
The organisation's director general said: “We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over.
He added: “We’re all in this together, and we’re all in this for the long haul.
“We will need even greater stores of resilience, patience, humility and generosity in the months ahead.”
The WHO director general also said: “Tomorrow marks six months since WHO received the first reports of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in #China.
“The six-month anniversary of the outbreak coincides with reaching 10 million Covid-19 cases and 500 thousand deaths”
He added: “This is a moment for all of us to reflect on the progress we have made and the lessons we have learned, and to recommit ourselves to doing everything we can to save lives.”
He also told the news briefing how six months ago, the world could not have imagined how lives would be "thrown into turmoil by this new virus".
“The Covid-19 pandemic has brought out the best and worst of humanity.
“All over the world we have seen heartwarming acts of resilience, inventiveness, solidarity and kindness.”
But he added: “We have also seen concerning signs of stigma, misinformation and the politicisation of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
