Global COVID-19 cases are down 24% and COVID deaths down 6%, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its weekly update.In US COVID news, Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), outlined a plan to revamp the agency in the wake of pandemic missteps.Deaths down, but still 15,000 per weekOfficials worldwide reported 5.4 million new COVID-19 cases last week, down 24% from the week before, according to the WHO's weekly epidemiologic update today.
More than 15,000 deaths were confirmed, down 6%.Cases declined in all global regions, most dramatically in Africa and Europe (both down 38%) and the Eastern Mediterranean (down 30%).
Deaths increased 31% in the Western Pacific and 12% in Southeast Asia but dropped in all other regions.At a WHO briefing today, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said that, while the number of weekly deaths has fallen recently, over the past 4 weeks they rose 35% globally.
He said, "Fifteen thousand deaths a week is completely unacceptable, when we have all the tools to prevent infections and save lives.