WHO says Europe's coronavirus outbreak still 'very concerning' despite progress

The World Health Organization's regional director described the outbreak of coronavirus in Europe as "very concerning" on Wednesday and urged governments to give "very careful consideration" before relaxing measures to control its spread.

"A dramatic rise in cases across the Atlantic skews what remains a very concerning picture in Europe," Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said in a virtual briefing. "We still have a long way to go in the marathon."

Dr Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the WHO Director-General, returning from a trip to one of the worst-hit countries, Spain, said it was too early to speak of optimism, but that the outbreak there was "definitely slowing down".