The European chapter of the World Health Organisation has expressed concern over the resurgence of new coronavirus cases on the continent, saying countries should impose tighter restrictions if necessary.

The number of infections in Europe crossed three million on Thursday, a fifth of the world's more than 15 million cases. It remains the hardest hit in terms of deaths, with 206,633 out of 627,307 worldwide.

“The recent resurgence in Covid-19 cases in some countries following the easing of physical distancing measures is certainly cause for concern,” a spokeswoman told AFP.

“Where new clusters of cases appear, these need to be controlled through rapid and targeted interventions including rapid case detection and isolation and diligent contact tracing and quarantining,” she said.