The World Health Organization said the number of new cases of Covid-19 worldwide had dropped by 16 percent to 2.7 million.
The number of new deaths reported also dropped 10 percent week-on-week to 81,000, the WHO said late Tuesday in its weekly epidemiological update, using figures to Sunday.
Five of the six WHO regions in the world reported a double-digit percentage decline in new cases, with only the eastern Mediterranean rising by 7 percent.
New case numbers fell by 20 percent in Africa and the Western Pacific last week, 18 percent in Europe, 16 percent in the Americas and 13 percent in Southeast Asia.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the number of new cases had decreased for a fifth consecutive week and had fallen by almost half, from more than five million cases in the week of January 4.
“It shows that simple measures for public health work, even in the presence of variants,” Tedros said.
“What’s important now is how we respond to this trend. The fire is not out, but we have reduced its size. If we stop fighting on any front, it will come back roaring.”
According to the epidemiological update, the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain was reported in 94 countries in the week to Monday, an increase of eight.
Local shipment of the variant, as opposed to imported cases, has been reported in at least 47 countries.
The variant first noticed in South Africa has been recorded in 46 countries, compared to two, with local shipping in at least 12 of the countries.
The so-called Brazilian variant has been detected in 21 countries, compared to six, with local shipping in at least two countries.
– Covax Delivery Schedules –
Meanwhile, the Covax facility, the global Covid-19 vaccine effort and distribution effort aimed at ensuring that poorer countries also have access to doses, said its final consignment list for the first deliveries will be released next week. , following the WHO giving the green light. to the AstraZeneca jabs.
On Monday, the WHO approved the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which is manufactured in plants in India and South Korea, meaning it can now be shipped via Covax, giving many countries their first Covid-19 shots.
“Covax is anticipating most of the first round of deliveries taking place in March, with some early deliveries … taking place at the end of February,” the WTO leader said in a statement.
The interim distribution list issued on February 3 broke down the initial doses of 337.2 million, of which 1.2 million were excluded Pfizer-BioNTech doses, from AstraZeneca. Both WHO-approved vaccines require two doses to be injected.
About 145 economies participating in Covax will receive enough doses by mid-2021 to immunize 3.3 percent of their collective population.
“Deliveries for this first round of awards will take place on an ongoing basis and in parts,” Covax said.
rjm / rma