The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a stark warning for countries heading out of lockdown too soon.

Eight months into the coronavirus pandemic, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus​ has acknowledged people’s longing for normality to return.

At a press conference in Geneva, he said WHO fully supported the efforts to reopen economies and societies, but they wanted to see it done safely.

“No country can just pretend the pandemic is over. If countries are serious about opening up, they must be serious about suppressing transmission and saving lives. This may seem like an impossible balance, but it’s not. It can be done, and it has been done. But it can only be done if countries are in control of transmission. The more control countries have over the virus, the more they can open up. Opening up without having control is a recipe for disaster”, - said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus​.