The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that the "slow, steady lifting of lockdowns" was key, as a jump in new coronavirus cases in South Korea and Germany raised global concerns about a second wave of infections.

"Lifting lockdowns are both complex and difficult," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online news briefing, adding that Germany, South Korea and China all had systems in place to respond to any resurgence in cases.