According to the World Health Organization, the number of COVID-19 cases reported globally climbed by 11% last week compared to the previous week, with the Americas seeing the largest rise. The increase came after a steady rise since October.
Between December 20 and December 26, the United Nations’ health office recorded approximately 4.99 million new cases throughout the world in its weekly epidemiological report, which was issued late Tuesday.
With 2.84 million people, Europe accounted for more than half of the total, however this was just a 3% rise over the previous week. With 304.6 new cases per 100,000 people, it likewise had the highest infection rate of any area.
According to the World Health Organization, new cases in the Americas increased by 39% to roughly 1.48 million, and the region had the second-highest infection rate, with 144.4 new cases per 100,000 people. More than 1.18 million instances were reported in the United States alone, a 34 percent rise.
The number of new cases reported in Africa increased by 7% to approximately 275,000.
“The total danger connected to the new variety… omicron remains quite high,” the FDA warned. It noted “consistent evidence” that it outgrows the delta version, which is still prominent in some regions of the world.
It stated that case incidence has decreased in South Africa, and that preliminary data from that nation, the United Kingdom, and Denmark show that omicron is associated with a lower risk of hospitalization.
More data is needed, however, “to understand the clinical indicators of severity, such as the need of oxygen, mechanical ventilation, and mortality, and how severity may be influenced by vaccination and/or prior… infection,” according to the report.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of newly recorded fatalities fell by 4% to 44,680 last week.
