The World Health Organization's Director-General, Tedros Adhnom, has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is "far from over", urging the world to unify efforts against the virus.

Tedros made the remarks on Thursday at the 5th Meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee on COVID-19.

"This pandemic is far from over. We need to adjust all our efforts to be suitable for the long-run," he said.

The WHO chief's remarks come as some countries around the world have reimposed lockdowns and restrictions that had been lifted following a decline in their caseloads.

Countries such as France, Germany and Italy reimposed restrictive measures in efforts to curb further spread of the virus.

By Thursday afternoon, the number of COVID-19 cases globally had surpassed the 44.61 million mark, with a death toll exceeding 1.17 million.

Tedros in his address called for cooperation between governments and the public in the fight against the virus.

"Strong leadership integrated in a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach will help to sustain a consistent and robust response," he said.