Thessaloniki Nov 8 (BUS): Global COVID-19 cases crossed 250 million on Monday as some countries in Eastern Europe saw record outbreaks, even as the delta wave subsided and many countries resumed trade and tourism.
The average number of daily cases has fallen by 36% over the past three months, but the virus still infects 50 million people every 90 days due to the highly contagious delta variant, according to a Reuters analysis.
By contrast, it took nearly a year to register the first 50 million cases of COVID-19.
Health experts are optimistic that many countries have put the worst of the pandemic behind thanks to vaccines and natural exposure, though they warn that cold weather and upcoming holiday gatherings may increase cases.
“We think that between now and the end of 2022, that is the point where we have this virus under control … where we can significantly reduce severe disease and death,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the epidemiologist who leads the World Health Organization said in November. . 3.
Infections are still on the rise in 55 of the 240 countries, with Russia, Ukraine and Greece reaching record levels of or close to reported cases since the pandemic began two years ago.
Eastern Europe has among the lowest vaccination rates in the region. More than half of all new infections reported worldwide were from countries in Europe, with one million new infections every four days, according to the analysis.
Several Russian regions said this week that they may impose additional restrictions or extend workplace closures as the country sees deaths from the disease.
Many world leaders have stressed the need to improve vaccination programs around the world, particularly in less affluent countries.
More than half of the world’s population has yet to receive a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Our World in Data, a number that drops below 5% in low-income countries.
Improving vaccine access will be on the agenda for meetings of the powerful APEC trade group in Asia and the Pacific, which New Zealand is hosting around the corner this week.
APEC members, which include Russia, China and the United States, pledged at a special meeting in June to expand the participation and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to lift trade barriers for drugs.
“Together we continue to keep supply chains running and support trade in vital medical supplies – including test kits, personal protective equipment and now vaccines,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other aid groups last month appealed to leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies to fund a $23.4 billion plan to bring COVID-19 vaccines, tests and medicines to poor countries in the next 12 months.
HF