Coronavirus pandemic could be over within two years - WHO head

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will be over in under two years.

Speaking in Geneva on Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Spanish flu of 1918 took two years to overcome.

But he added that current advances in technology could enable the world to halt the virus "in a shorter time".

"Of course with more connectiveness, the virus has a better chance of spreading," he said.

"But at the same time, we have also the technology to stop it, and the knowledge to stop it," he noted, stressing the importance of "national unity, global solidarity".

The deadly flu of 1918 killed at least 50 million people.

The coronavirus has so far killed almost 800,000 people and infected 22.7 million more.

Dr Tedros also responded to a question about corruption relating to personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, which he described as "criminal".

"Any type of corruption is unacceptable," he answered.