The number of world-wide COVID-19 cases passed 360,000 cases and World Health Organization officials warn that defensive measures such as social distancing won't be enough to defeat the virus.
"To win, we need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics – testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case, and tracing and quarantining every close contact," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday.
Ghebreyesus said that it took 67 days for the world to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for the next 100,000 cases and only 4 days for the third 100,000 cases.
Several countries have now changed their policies to ramp up measures against the spread of COVID-19.
In a nation-wide address, the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered an effective lockdown, forcing the closure of retail stores and banning any gatherings of more than two people.
In the United States, nearly 1 in 3 Americans have been told to stay home to slow the spread as more states such as Ohio, Louisiana, and Delaware enacted broad restrictions on residents.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 580 points, or 3 percent after the Senate failed to move a massive $2 trillion coronavirus response bill. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said he believed differences could be overcome in the next 24 hours.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also said that postponing the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo could be unavoidable. The International Olympic Committee said it will examine the situation over the next few weeks.
Meanwhile Italy, which has the second-largest number of coronavirus patients, saw a smaller daily increase in new cases for the second day in a row, officials said. They added that it is too early to know if the country is reaching a positive trend.
Data released by Italy's Civil Protection agency showed 4,789 new cases from a day earlier, nearly 700 fewer than the day-to-day increase of 5,560 new cases reported Sunday.
In China, where the pandemic was first detected, the National Health Commission said Monday that there were no new domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 in the Chinese mainland on Sunday.
Of the total 81,093 cases, 72,703 had been discharged from hospital after recovery as of Sunday.
The country has been working with other nations to share their experiences in battling the pandemic.
Story with information from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Xinhua.