World

Record number of COVID-19 cases reported within a week

Worldwide, more new cases of Covid-19 were reported within one week than ever before, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

There were 5.2 million new cases, the eighth consecutive weekly increase, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The number of deaths reported has also risen steadily for five consecutive weeks, he said.

“It took nine months to reach 1 million deaths, four months to reach 2 million, and three months to reach 3 million.”

Of particular concern is the rise in cases and hospitalizations among people between ages 25 and 59, he said.

The increase may be due to the more contagious variants and the fact that there is more social contact among this age range, Tedros said.

“We have the tools to bring this pandemic under control in a matter of months, if we apply them consistently and equitably,” he said.

Those tools include protective measures such as hand washing, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks, alongside vaccinations.

The WHO has repeatedly called on wealthier countries to give more vaccines to poorer countries, said dpa international.

In many rich countries, one in four people have received their first jab, while the rate is only one in 500 in poorer countries.

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BNA

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