Advertisment

Covid-19 cases falling everywhere, except Americas, Africa: WHO

author-image
Shagun
New Update
Covid-19 cases falling everywhere, except Americas, Africa: WHO
Advertisment
The number of fresh Covid-19 cases reported worldwide has continued to decline except in the Americas and Africa, the World Health Organisation stated in its latest assessment of the pandemic. The U.N. health agency, in its weekly pandemic report released on Tuesday, said about 3.5 million new cases and over 25,000 deaths were reported globally, which respectively represent decreases of 12% and 25%. The number of infections started to follow a downward trend in March, which led to many countries dismantling their widespread testing and surveillance programs, making an accurate count of cases extremely difficult. WHO asserted that there were only two regions where reported Covid-19 cases saw an uptick - the Americas, by 14 percent, and Africa, by 12 percent.
Advertisment
Amid global Covid drop, Americas show uptick Coronavirus cases, however, remained stable in the Western Pacific and fell everywhere else, the agency said. Also Read | Rupee hits fresh record low, slips to 77.59 against US dollar During a press conference this week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that "the rising cases in more than 50 countries highlights the virus's volatility." Amid global Covid drop, Americas show uptick Covid-19 variants, including mutant strains of the extremely infectious omicron, are causing a COVID-19 resurgence in various countries, according to Tedros, including South Africa, which was the first to identify omicron in November. He asserted that high rates of population immunity are preventing an increase in hospitalisations and deaths, but warned that "this is not guaranteed for places where vaccination levels are low." Only about 16 percent of people in poor economies have received Covid-19 vaccination. Amid global Covid drop, Americas show uptick Meanwhile, WHO's report noted some of the biggest jumps in Covid-19 infections in China, which saw a 145% rise in the last week. Tedros on Tuesday also said that he didn't think China's "zero-Covid" strategy was sustainable, "considering the behaviour of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future." Also Read | Allahabad HC rejects plea seeking to open 22 closed doors in Taj Mahal -PTC News-
who covid-19-cases pandemic americas tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus africa omicron-spread
Advertisment

Stay updated with the latest news headlines.

Follow us:
Advertisment