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Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO emergency team, issued the stern warning at a press conference.
The global death toll from coronavirus could reach two million before an effective vaccine is widely used, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.
Dr Mike Ryan, WHO chief of emergencies, said the figure could be higher without concerted international action.
Nearly a million people have died from Covid-19 worldwide since the disease first appeared in China late last year.
Virus infections continue to rise, with 32 million confirmed cases worldwide.
The start of a second wave of coronavirus infections has been seen in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere as winter approaches.
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So far, the United States, India and Brazil have confirmed the highest number of cases, registering more than 15 million among them.
But in recent days, there has been a resurgence of infections in Europe, prompting warnings of tax-like national closures at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
“Overall, within that large region, we are seeing worrying increases in the disease,” Dr. Ryan said of the marked increase in cases in Europe.
He urged Europeans to ask themselves whether they had done enough to avoid the need for closed shutdowns and whether alternatives such as test and trace, quarantines and social distancing had been put in place.
“The lockdowns are almost a last resort, and to think that we are returning to the territory of last resort in September is quite a sobering idea,” Dr. Ryan told reporters at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
What did he say about the death toll?
When asked if two million deaths were possible worldwide before a vaccine was available, Dr. Ryan said, “It’s not impossible.”
He added that death rates were declining as treatments for the disease improved.
But better treatments and even effective vaccines might not be enough on their own to prevent deaths that exceed two million, he said.
“Are we prepared to do whatever it takes to avoid that number?” Dr. Ryan asked, asking governments to do everything possible to control Covid-19.
“Unless we do it all, the number he’s talking about is not only imaginable, but sadly very likely.”
What are the latest developments worldwide?
Around the world, stricter social distancing guidelines and restrictions are being applied to businesses to curb a second surge.
In Spain, the government recommended reimposing a partial blockade in the entire Madrid area, where cases have increased considerably. Instead, local authorities tightened restrictions in some districts of the city, affecting one million people.
Meanwhile, in France, bar and restaurant staff in the southern city of Marseille protested Saturday against the closure of their workplaces.
On Friday, more restrictions were announced in various regions of the UK, as daily new infections continue to rise.
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By contrast, in some states in the US, restrictions on businesses are being lifted, despite the growing number of cases across the country.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said the first wave of the pandemic was not yet over in the United States, because infections have not decreased enough since the initial outbreak.
“Instead of saying, ‘a second wave,’ why don’t we say, ‘Are we up for the challenge of fall and winter?'” Dr. Fauci told CNN.
Elsewhere, Israel tightened restrictions on business and travel, a week after the country became the first in the world to begin a second nationwide blockade.
