356 414The numbers of new cases and deaths from Covid-19 continue to decline globally since their peak in January, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
During the week of June 13-19, more than 3.3 million cases were reported worldwide, down 4% from the previous week. The number of new weekly deaths also continues to decline, with 7,500 deaths recorded, which represents a 16% drop from the previous week.
The data are from the WHO’s weekly epidemiological bulletin released this Wednesday (22). As of June 19, more than 536 million confirmed cases and more than 6.3 million deaths from the disease have been reported worldwide.
Data by countries
The highest number of new weekly cases were reported in the United States (652,217 new cases), China (406,401), Germany (356,414), Brazil (256,034 new cases; down 9%) and France (253,322).
The highest number of new weekly deaths was reported in the United States (1,858 new deaths), China (1,044), Brazil (952 new deaths; drop of 3%) Russia (443) and Italy (338).
Variant monitoring
The WHO carries out continuous surveillance of variants of the new coronavirus. According to the new bulletin, Ômicron remains the dominant variant in global circulation, accounting for nearly all sequences reported to the international Gisaid database between May 17 and June 17.
Globally, BA.5 and BA.4 strains continue to increase in prevalence and have been detected in 62 and 58 countries, respectively. BA.2.12.1, which has been detected in 69 countries, has declined in prevalence since the previous week.
According to the WHO, the BA.4 and BA.5 strains have a constellation of genetic mutations that differ from BA.2, including a shared mutation that has been associated with increased transmissibility.
The increase in the prevalence of BA.4 and BA.5 coincided with an increase in cases in several regions. In some countries, the increase in cases has also led to an increase in hospitalizations and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions. However, according to the WHO, the current available evidence does not indicate a change in severity associated with any of the three lineages descended from Ômicron.
Source: CNN Brasil
