Cases and deaths due to COVID-19 are again increasing globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday that fatalities increased last week after nine weeks of drop. It recorded more than 55,000 deaths, which was 3% more than the previous week. Cases increased by 10% last week to around 3 million. The highest number of cases has been reported from Brazil, India, Indonesia and Britain.

This could be attributed to low vaccination rates, easing of mask regulations and other precautions, as well as the rapid spread of the highly transmissible delta variant. This variant has now been detected in 111 countries and is likely to become the dominant strain across the globe in the coming months. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the world is in early stages of a third COVID-19 wave.

The fatalities in Argentina have crossed the 100,000 mark. Daily COVID-19 deaths in Russia also reached a record high this week. Britain registered a single day caseload of over 40,000 new cases for the first time in a span of six months. Indonesia recorded around 1,000 deaths and more than 54,000 fresh cases on Wednesday, increasing from about 8,000 cases per day one month ago.

Seven months into the COVID vaccination drive, deaths around the world have declined to around 7,900 a day, after reaching a peak of over 18,000 a day in January. At present, cases are being recorded at around 4,50,000 a day, which has come down by half since the peak seen in April.

Source: ET Healthworld