Global COVID-19 deaths rise for 1st time in 5 weeks, WHO reports – National

After five weeks of reduction COVID-19 The number of deaths reported globally rose 4% last week, according to the World Health Organization.

In its weekly review of the pandemic published on Thursday, the United Nations health agency said there were 8,700 deaths from COVID-19 last week, a 21% increase in the Americas and a 17% increase in the West. Pacific.

The WHO said coronavirus cases continued to decline, with about 3.2 million new cases reported last week, extending the decline in COVID-19 infections since a peak in January. However, there is still a significant increase in the number of infections in some regions, with the Middle East and Southeast Asia reporting increases of 58% and 33% respectively.

“Because many countries have reduced surveillance and testing, we know this number is under-reported,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week.

“There is no acceptable level of mortality from COVID-19,” he said, as the global community now has vaccines, drugs and diagnostics to stop the virus.

While many wealthy countries in Europe and North America have mostly lifted virus restrictions, China’s extreme COVID-19 policies have meant mass testing, isolation and isolation. establish anyone in contact with a case.

China’s capital brought schools back online this week in one of the country’s major districts amid a new COVID-19 outbreak linked to a nightclub. Residents in Beijing are still undergoing regular screening – mostly every other day – and must wear masks and swipe a mobile phone app to enter public places and facilitate tracing. case.

China has maintained its “no COVID” policy despite significant economic costs, and the head of the World Health Organization insists that the policy is unsustainable.

This week, US officials took a step closer to licensing the coronavirus vaccine for the youngest children, after the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers backed the vaccine. from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for children under 5 years old.

Outside experts unanimously voted that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any risks for children under the age of 5 – that’s about 18 million teenagers. They were the last age group in the US without access to a COVID-19 vaccine, and many parents were anxious to protect their young children.

If all prescribed steps are completed, the injections should be available next week.