The World Health Organization(WHO) has urged young people to join efforts to contain the coronavirus.

In a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva on Friday, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivered a message to younger people, saying they are not invincible and that the virus could put them in the hospital for weeks or even kill them.

He said although older people are hardest hit, younger people are not spared, and the choices they make about where they go could be the difference between life and death for someone else.

Noting 210-thousand cases worldwide reported to the WHO and the death toll surpassing nine-thousand, Dr. Tedros said that every day, COVID-19 seems to reach a new and tragic milestone.

He expressed concern that COVID-19 should gain a foothold in countries with weaker health systems or vulnerable populations, and also worried about the collapse of the personal protective equipment(PPE) market.

But the director-general welcomed developments from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, which reported no new cases for the first time on Thursday.

He said this provides hope for the rest of the world that even the most severe situation can be turned around.

Dr. Tedros also advised people affected by the prolonged outbreak to eat well, exercise and avoid smoking and drinking.