WHO reported 71% increase in COVID-19 infections in a week – RBC

In the world over the past week, about 9.5 million new patients with coronavirus were detected, this number is 71% more than new cases of the disease detected a week earlier. This was stated during the briefing by the technical head of the organization on COVID-19 Maria van Kerkhove, according to website UN.

“And we know what it is (the number of diagnosed cases of the disease. – RBK) an underestimate, “she said, warning that the organization expects an increase in the number of cases next week, since in the last day alone, doctors in the world have identified more than 2.2 million new cases.

WHO head Adan Tedros Ghebreyesus noted during the briefing that the “tsunami” of new cases of coronavirus had previously shaken the health systems of the countries of the world. “Although omicron appears to be less severe than delta, especially in vaccinated individuals, that does not mean it should be classified as light,” he pointed out.

Gebreyesus addedthat the number of new patients identified last week was a record for the entire pandemic. He explained that WHO considers the number of new cases of COVID-19 to be underestimated due to the backlog in testing due to the holidays.