GENEVA:The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that there is no time for complacency in confronting the coronavirus despite positive news about possible vaccines.

"Right now we are extremely concerned by the surge in #COVID19 cases we’re seeing in some countries," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a Tweet on Monday.

"Particularly in Europe and the Americas, #healthworkers and health systems are being pushed to the breaking point."

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More than 54.44 million people have been reported infected by the coronavirus globally and 1,318,042​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.