World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday the world must be better prepared for the next pandemic, as he called on countries to invest in public health.

More than 27.19 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 888,326​ have died, according to a Reuters tally, since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

"This will not be the last pandemic," Tedros told a news briefing in Geneva. "History teaches us that outbreaks and pandemics are a fact of life. But when the next pandemic comes, the world must be ready - more ready than it was this time."