WHO: COVID deaths dropped by 21% last week but cases rising

19/5/2022 19:31

        The number of coronavirus deaths globally dropped by about 21% in the past week while cases rose in most parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization.
        
        In its weekly report on the pandemic released Thursday, the U.N. health agency said the number of new COVID-19 cases appears to have stabilized after weeks of decline since late March, with about 3.5 million new cases last week, or a 1% rise. WHO said cases increased in the Americas, Middle East, Africa and the Western Pacific, while falling in Europe and Southeast Asia. Some 9,000 deaths were recorded.
        
        Infections rose by more than 60% in the Middle East and 26% in the Americas, while deaths fell everywhere except Africa, where they jumped by nearly 50%.
        The COVID-19 figures reported to WHO do not include the recent outbreak figures announced by North Korea, which has yet to officially share requested data with the agency.
        
        On Thursday, the authoritarian country headed by Kim Jung Un reported more than 262,000 more suspected cases as its caseload approaches 2 million, a week after the country acknowledged the outbreak and scrambled to slow infections in its unvaccinated population.