WHO in Copenhagen holds an online news briefing

A health specialist at the World Health Organisation on Wednesday warned European countries now is "not the time to relax measures" in the battle against the coronavirus.

Dr Hans Henri Kluge, Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, said some countries in Europe who had implemented strict lockdown measures were beginning to show signs that their rates of new coronavirus cases were decreasing.

However, he said there was still a long way to go in the battle and any progress that had been made was "extremely fragile".

Kluge warned while cases were showing signs of decreasing in some European countries in others, such as Turkey and Sweden, they were starting to increase.

He urged countries to follow three key areas; keep training and preparing health workers to battle the virus; continue with methods such as isolation and testing to limit the spread of the disease; and to continue communicating with people about new and current measures.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.