Geneva (AP) —The number of new coronavirus cases reported worldwide continues to decline, except in the Americas and Africa, the World Health Organization said in a recent pandemic assessment.
The decline comes as Europe marks the milestone of COVID-19’s death: 2 million on the continent.
In a weekly pandemic report released late Tuesday, the United Nations Health Agency reported about 3.5 million new cases and more than 25,000 deaths worldwide, showing a 12% and 25% decrease, respectively. Said.
The reported decline in infectious diseases began in March, but many The country has been dismantled Their extensive testing and monitoring program makes accurate case counting very difficult.
WHO stated that there were only two areas of increased COVID-19 infection reported. Americas increased by 14% and Africa increased by 12%. Authorities said the incident was stable in the western Pacific and depressed everywhere else.
WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyes warned at a press conference this week: Volatility of this virus.. “
According to Tedros, variants of COVID-19, including a mutant version of highly infectious Omicron, are driving the resurgence of COVID-19 in several countries, including South Africa, where Omicron was first identified in November. That is.
He said a relatively high population immunity prevented hospitalizations and mortality spikes, but warned that “this is not guaranteed in areas with low immunization levels.” Only about 16% of people in poor countries are immunized against COVID-19.
China reported the largest surge in COVID-19 cases, with a 145% increase last week, according to the WHO report.
Earlier this week, Chinese authorities doubled pandemic regulations in Shanghai after a brief easing. The move, which wanted a blockade for more than a month, was finally eased after food shortages and quarantine complaints, forcing some to surrender their home keys.
WHO Tedros said on Tuesday he wasn’t thinking China’s “Zero Corona” Strategy “Given the current virus behavior and future expectations”, it was sustainable.
On Thursday, North Korea Outbreak of the first coronavirus Imposed a national blockade. The magnitude of the outbreak was not immediately known, but the country’s health system is poor and it is believed that 26 million people are rarely vaccinated, which can have serious consequences.
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