France has become the fifth country to report more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths - as another 743 people died from the disease in Italy.
The death toll in France stands at 1,100, compared with 860 deaths yesterday - an increase of 240.
A French public health official also said there are 2,516 people needing life support.
Health officials and leaders also warned the world is now hitting the stage that will determine how badly each nation will be affected by COVID-19.
Countries in Europe and North America are pressing ahead with stay-at-home restrictions which affect 1.5 billion people worldwide.
WHO chiefs say there is still time to slow the spread of the virus.
The head of the organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said we are "not helpless bystanders" and we can still "change the trajectory of this pandemic"
The virus has continued to surge in
Spain, forcing a nationwide lockdown that has closed shops and bars and prevented more than 46 million people from leaving their homes
Germany, however, has indicated that its infection curve could have been flattened after it imposed its own social distancing measures.