As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise across the globe, the head of the World Health Organization has said that China's control measures could be adopted by other countries as well.

"We were saying to the rest of the world, there is a window of opportunity, China is taking massive actions. So use this window of opportunity, and if any case comes to your country, contain it as soon as possible," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told China Central Television (CCTV).

"So what we saw in terms of experience from China is really impressive. And as you know now the outbreak in China is on the decline, and there is a significant decline," he said.

"The virus is hammered, and on a retreat. And we are very glad that it is reversing, or the virus is retreating. And this is because of the government's leadership, and at the same time, the cooperation of the people of China. When any country does that, they can control this outbreak of this virus," he added.

"If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their people in the response, those with a handful of COVID-19 cases can prevent those cases becoming clusters, and those clusters becoming community transmission," Tedros said.

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Noting the number of cases outside China had increased 13-fold in the past two weeks, and the number of affected countries tripled, he said the COVID-19 outbreak is a pandemic, urging all countries to take part in the fight to stop the spread of the virus.