Geneva, September 7 (BNA): The number of new coronavirus cases everywhere in the world fell last week by about 12%, according to the World Health Organization’s latest weekly review of the pandemic released Wednesday.
The United Nations health agency reported that there were just under 4.2 million new infections last week and about 13,700 deaths — a 5% decrease, according to the Associated Press.
“This is very encouraging, but there is no guarantee that these trends will continue,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
“The most dangerous thing is to assume (they) they will,” he said. He added that although the number of reported weekly deaths has fallen by more than 80% since February, one person still dies of COVID-19 every 44 seconds, and most of these deaths can be avoided.
In its report on the epidemic, the World Health Organization said that deaths from Covid-19 decreased in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East, but increased in Africa, the Americas and the Western Pacific.
Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical chief on COVID-19, noted that the virus has not yet settled into a seasonal pattern and that its continued evolution will require continuous monitoring and potential adjustments in diagnosis, treatment and vaccines.
Scientists warn that the coronavirus will remain far into the future, in part because it gets better at circumventing immunity than vaccination and previous infections.
Experts point to emerging research that suggests the latest omicron variant is gaining ground in the US – BA.4.6, which was responsible for about 8% of new infections in the US last week – appears to be better at evading the immune system than dominant BA. 5.
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