The World Health Organization on Monday said it was working together with scientists from South Africa and the U.K. to better understand the coronavirus mutations and their influence on the global virus' situation.

The two countries have reported new variants of the coronavirus, sparking concerns around the world of a possible deterioration in the global response against the virus.

In a COVID-19 press briefing on Monday, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said the organization was "carrying out epidemiologic and laboratory studies, which will guide next steps."

Earlier this month, the WHO cautioned against major alarm over the new variants of the coronavirus, saying they are a normal part of a pandemic's evolution.

In his latest speech, Tedros reiterated the calls for countries to remain calm amid the emerging new variants.

"Only if countries are looking and testing effectively will you be able to pick up variants and adjust strategies to cope," he said.

"We must ensure that countries are not punished for transparently sharing new scientific findings."

Currently, the number of COVID-19 infections globally has surpassed the 80.97 million mark, while the death toll has exceeded the 1.76 million mark.