The northern hemisphere is facing a crucial moment in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organisation said Friday, with too many countries witnessing an exponential increase in coronavirus cases, AFP reports.

“The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference.

“Too many countries are seeing an exponential increase in Covid-19 cases and that is now leading to hospitals and intensive care units running close to or above capacity — and we're still only in October.

“We urge leaders to take immediate action to prevent further unnecessary deaths.”

The novel coronavirus has infected nearly 42 million people and killed at least 1.1 million since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.