Geneva, The World Health Organization (WHO) said the novel coronavirus was yet to be brought under control "in most of the world", while warning that it was actually "getting worse".

Speaking at a briefing on Friday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: "The virus has upended health systems in some of the world's wealthiest nations, while some countries that have mounted a successful response have been of modest means.

"In most of the world the virus is not under control. It is getting worse."

The WHO chief added that the pandemic was "still accelerating", as the total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has "doubled in the last six week", the Metro newspaper reported.

As of Saturday, the total number of global coronavirus cases stood at 12,507,849, while the fatalities rose to 560,460, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The US currently accounted for the world's highest number of infections and fatalities at 3,182,385 and 134,073, respectively, while Brazil came in the second place with 1,800,827 cases and 70,398 deaths.