US reports 35% increase in new COVID cases last week while India sees decline of 2%: WHO

As the COVID-19 situation continues to be fragile and the threat is still far from over, the newly reported coronavirus cases continue to surge across the United States, driven by the fast-spreading and highly contagious Delta variant that now makes up the majority of infections in the country. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), United States reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases among all countries - a staggering 7,34,354 cases that represented a 35% increase in infections compared to the previous week. The global health agency said in its weekly epidemiological report that though India was among the top five in terms of new Covid-19 cases reported, there was a 2% decline from the previous week.

Iran reports huge spike last week

It further stated that While India, Brazil, and Indonesia witnessed a decline in infections compared to last week, Iran, apart from the US, reported a huge spike, recording 2,48,102 new positive cases. Even with the latest surge, cases in the US are nowhere near their peak of a quarter-million per day in January. And deaths are running at under 250 per day on average after topping out at more than 3,400 over the winter that shows how effectively the vaccine can prevent serious illness and death in those who happen to become infected. 

The outbreak continues its wider spread around the Asia-Pacific region

Meanwhile, there was no change in the pattern of highest weekly infections and related deaths per capita region-wise. The Regions of America and Europe reported the highest weekly incidence of cases, while the same regions and South-East Asia saw the highest weekly incidence of fatality. The outbreak also continues its wider spread around the Asia-Pacific region. Cases in Sydney and Melbourne hit new highs for the current outbreak while infections and deaths in Thailand reached record levels. WHO’s weekly report also revealed that the Delta variant of coronavirus was reported from seven more countries last week, taking the number of countries that are reporting the highly transmissible variant of concern to 142. The viral load of the first positive test of Delta infections was approximately 1,000 times higher than that of the original strain, said the UN health agency citing the study.

Image Credits: PTI