Coronavirus cases top half a million - WHO

Coronavirus has infected more than half a million people and killed 20,000, the head of the World Health Organization said on Friday as he appealed again for protective gear for medical staff working to save lives.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a Geneva news conference that countries must refrain from using medicines that have not been demonstrated to be effective against COVID-19.

According to a Reuters tally published on Friday, more than 551,800 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 24,885 have died.

Infections have been reported in 202 countries and territories since first cases were identified in China in December 2019.