COVID-19 falling worldwide, but Americas, Africa see numbers rise
Biden marks ‘tragic milestone’ as U.S. crosses 1 million deaths due to virus
The number of new coronavirus cases reported worldwide has continued to fall except in the Americas and Africa, the World Health Organization said in its latest assessment of the pandemic.
The decline comes as Europe marked a COVID-19 death milestone: two million on the continent.
On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden appealed to world leaders at a COVID-19 summit to re-energize a lagging international commitment to attacking the virus as he led the U.S. in marking the “tragic milestone” of one million deaths in America. He ordered flags lowered to half-mast and warned against complacency around the globe.
“This pandemic isn’t over,” Biden said. He spoke solemnly of the once-unthinkable U.S. toll: “one million empty chairs around the family dinner table.”
The virus has killed more than 999,000 people in the U.S. and about 6.2 million people globally since it emerged in late 2019, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Other counts, including by the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association, have the toll at one million.
“Today, we mark a tragic milestone here in the United States, one million COVID deaths,” he said.
In its weekly pandemic report released late Tuesday, the WHO said about 3.5 million new cases and more than 25,000 deaths were reported globally, which respectively represent decreases of 12 per cent and 25 per cent.
The downward trend in reported infections began in March, although many countries have dismantled their widespread testing and surveillance programs, making an accurate count of cases extremely difficult.
The UN health agency said there were only two regions where reported COVID-19 infections increased: the Americas, by 14 per cent, and Africa, by 12 per cent. Cases remained stable in the Western Pacific and fell everywhere else, the agency said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned during a press briefing this week that “the rising cases in more than 50 countries highlights the volatility of this virus.”
He said COVID-19 variants, including mutated versions of the highly infectious Omicron, are driving a resurgence of COVID-19 in several countries. He said relatively high rates of population immunity are preventing a spike in hospitalizations and deaths, but cautioned that “this is not guaranteed for places where vaccination levels are low.” Only about 16 per cent of people in poorer countries have been immunized against COVID-19.
WHO’s report noted that some of the biggest jumps in COVID-19 cases were seen in China, which saw a 145 per cent rise in the last week.
On Thursday, North Korea announced its first COVID outbreak and imposed a nationwide lockdown. It could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health-care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated.
The WHO said there are only two regions where reported COVID-19 cases spiked: the Americas, by 14%, and Africa, by 12%