The director-general of the World Health Organization on Thursday warned governments in all countries that the coronavirus epidemic is "not a drill," and urged them to take it seriously.

The COVID-19 epidemic can be pushed back, but only with a collective, coordinated and comprehensive approach that engages the entire machinery of government, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a daily briefing.

The number of new COVID-19 cases appears to be declining in South Korea, which is an encouraging sign that the disease can be pushed back when engaged with the entire machinery of government, Tedros stressed.

He has urged all countries to take actions starting with leadership from the top, coordinating every part of government, including the ministries of health, security, diplomacy, finance, commerce, transport, trade, information and more. 

The whole government should be involved, he stressed. 

Meanwhile, Tedros voiced concerns about the increasing number of countries reporting cases, especially those with weaker health systems. 

"Some countries have either not taken this seriously enough, or have decided there is nothing they can do," said Tedros, calling on every country to act with speed, scale and clear-minded determination.

WHO data showed that there have been a total of 95,333 reported cases of COVID-19 globally, and 3,282 deaths as of 0900 GMT on Thursday. 

China reported 143 new cases on Thursday, according to the WHO. Most of them continue to be reported from Hubei Province, and 8 provinces in the country have not reported any cases in the last 14 days. Outside China, 2,098 more cases were reported on the same day, bringing the total number to 14,768.