The World Health Organization (WHO) insisted on Monday there was still hope of conquering the coronavirus pandemic despite the looming landmarks of 750,000 deaths and 20 million cases.

“This week, we’ll reach 20 million registered cases and 750,000 deaths,” WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said. “Behind these statistics is a great deal of pain and suffering. Every life lost matters. I know many of you are grieving and that this is a difficult moment for the world. “But I want to be clear: there are green shoots of hope.”

He stressed it’s not too late to take action to suppress the crisis that has gripped the planet.

From Monday, face masks became compulsory in tourist hotspots in Paris amid warnings of a resurgence of cases, as infections in the US, the world’s worst-hit country, topped 5 million.

UN-Water, a United Nations body, said that a severe household water shortage facing two out of five people in the world is undermining efforts to contain the pandemic.

Some 3 billion people don’t have access to running water and soap at home, and 4 billion suffer from severe water scarcity for at least one month a year, UN-Water said.