The World Health Organization(WHO) says that Europe has become the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva on Friday, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that more cases are now being reported in Europe every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic.

He said that countries need to take a comprehensive approach to fight the pandemic, saying that "not testing alone, not contact tracing alone, not quarantine alone, not social distancing alone but do it all."

Dr. Tedros added that China, South Korea and Singapore show that such measures can prevent infections and save lives.

He said any country that looks at the experience of others with large epidemics and thinks that it won’t happen to them is making a deadly mistake.

The WHO is also launching a COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund together with the United Nations Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation to raise money from a wide range of donors.

Funds will go toward research and development and buying masks, gloves, goggles and testing kits for medical workers.

Meanwhile the European Union has announced a 37 billion euro investment initiative to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on EU economies.