Britain will extend its coronavirus lockdown for "at least" another three weeks, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said on Thursday, as hundreds across the country continue to die daily from the outbreak.

The wealthy Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation called Wednesday for global cooperation to ready COVID-19 vaccines for seven billion people, while offering $150 million toward developing therapeutics and treatments for the virus.

Switzerland announced on Thursday a three-stage easing of the restrictions imposed to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic, with some shops and services allowed to reopen from April 27.

There is a "tremendous danger" of a COVID-19 resurgence in China due to Beijing's censorship and suppression during the coronavirus outbreak, Human Rights Watch warned on Thursday.

Iran on Thursday announced 92 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the third straight day that official fatalities remained in double digits in the Middle East's worst-hit country.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday expanded a state of emergency due to the coronavirus to cover the whole country to stem the growing spread of the disease.

The British government was on Thursday expected to extend a nationwide lockdown for another three weeks, amid signs the coronavirus outbreak is peaking, but warnings of more deaths to come.

The World Health Organization's European office said Thursday that despite some "optimistic signs" in some of the countries worst hit by the new coronavirus, the number of cases was rising and approaching one million in the continent alone.

New Zealand is expected to start easing a nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus next week, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned Thursday it would be far from a return to normal. 

COVID-19 has killed at least 131,319 people around the world, with Europe accounting for more than two-thirds of the deaths, according to an AFP tally Wednesday from official sources.

Europe has reported 88,716 deaths, while the United States has the single highest toll at 26,950.