FILE PHOTO: Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference on the situation of the coronavirus (COVID-2019), in Geneva, Switzerland, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged all countries on Thursday to “double down” in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking to diplomats in Geneva a day after characterizing COVID-19 as a pandemic, also said: “Describing this as a pandemic does not mean that countries should give up. The idea that countries should shift from containment to mitigation is wrong and dangerous.”

He said that, while maintaining a containment strategy, all countries must “strike a fine balance between protecting health, preventing economic and social disruption, and respecting human rights”, according to remarks made available by the agency.