COVID Alert: WHO Sounds Warning As Weekly Global Cases Rise By 8%

New York: COVID-19 cases have come down significantly in India following an Omicron-driven third wave, but a number of countries are witnessing a steep surge in coronavirus infections, leading to a rise in total number of cases globally.

No wonder the World Health Organization (WHO) is worried.

For the first time since January, new infections have shown a rising trend. There has been an 8% increase in COVID-positive cases globally, compared to the previous week. As many as 11 million new cases and around 43,000 deaths were reported from March 7-13 across the world.

The biggest contributors have been South Korea and China, where coronavirus cases jumped by 25% and deaths by 27%.

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Warning nations not to drop guard and remain vigilant against the virus, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “This increase is occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we’re seeing are just the tip of the iceberg.”

Factors like the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its BA.2 sublineage, as well as lifting of public health and social measures are causing this spike in cases, according to WHO.

Another reason is low vaccination rates in some countries, driven partly by a ‘huge amount of misinformation’, said WHO officials.