(File photo: CGTN)

GENEVA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said that there's no question that stay-at-home orders and other physical distancing measures have successfully suppressed coronavirus transmission in many countries.

However, he said, this virus remains "extremely dangerous," and early evidence suggests that most of the world's population remains susceptible.

"That means epidemics can easily re-ignite," he said during a virtual press conference from Geneva.

According to the WHO chief, one of the greatest dangers the world is now facing is complacency, since people in countries with stay-at-home orders are "understandably frustrated" with being confined to their homes for weeks.

Arguing that the world cannot and will not go back to the way things were, the WHO chief told reporters that there must be a "new normal" -- a world that is healthier, safer and better prepared.

He stressed that the public health measures the WHO has been advocating since the beginning of the pandemic must remain the backbone of the response in all countries: find every case, isolate every case, test every case, care for every case and trace and quarantine every contact.

"Countries that don't do these central things, and do them consistently, will see more cases, and more lives will be lost," he warned.