The Director-General of the World Health Organization has commended Canada for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted Canada as one of the countries that have done well at bringing its outbreak "under control."

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Tedros discussed how countries have successfully implemented the “fundamental pillars of the response," including isolating and testing, as well as promoting virus-fighting measures such as physical distancing, hand-washing and wearing a face mask.

"When these measures are followed, cases go down. When they are not, cases go up,” he said.

“Countries and communities that have followed this advice carefully and consistently have done well, either in preventing large-scale outbreaks like Cambodia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Thailand, Vietnam and islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. Or in bringing large outbreaks under control like Canada, China, Germany and the Republic of Korea.”

Tedros also noted the main difference between the countries who have done well and those who have not: "The bottom line is that one of the most fundamental ingredients for stopping this virus is determination and the willingness to make hard choices to keep ourselves and each other safe," he explained. 

More than 16 million global cases of COVID-19 have been identified since the virus first emerged with more than 650,000 deaths around the world. 

To date, Canada has recorded more than 115,000 cases and more than 8,900 deaths. 

Tedros added: “COVID-19 has changed our world. It has brought people, communities and nations together and driven them apart. It has shown what humans are capable of, both positively and negatively.”