The leaders said that in the same spirit, countries must now “be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly coordinated fashion”.

A new treaty would help to establish better systems for alerting people about potential pandemics, they said, while also improving the sharing of data and distribution of vaccines and personal protective equipment.

“There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe.”

The letter added: “At a time when Covid-19 has exploited our weaknesses and divisions, we must seize this opportunity and come together as a global community for peaceful co-operation that extends beyond this crisis.”

Dr. David Nabarro, a special envoy on COVID-19 for the WHO, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that without “some kind of special action, the world as a whole will not be vaccinated until well into 2022”.

“During that time all sorts of problems with variants will emerge, and so all that leaders are saying is ‘this problem is so huge we’ve got to work together to deal with it’,” he added.

Mr. Kwarteng told the programme that making vaccines available to other counties “can happen once we have a surplus of vaccines here in the UK”.

“There’s still a way to go. We’ve got to make sure we do everything we can deal with the pandemic and coronavirus in this country,” he said.

“But obviously we want to work in the spirit of co-operation as well, and when we do have surpluses we’ll be looking to export those, I’m sure.”

Outdoor sports like tennis were able to resume on Monday – PA Media