New COVID-19 cases worldwide fell 28% last week—marking a fifth straight week of declining cases—and COVID-related deaths dropped 22% from the previous week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly update today.At a press briefing today, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said "the end is in sight" and announced the launch of six policy briefs to outline key steps countries can take to help reach the end of the pandemic."Last week," Tedros said, "the number of weekly reported deaths from COVID-19 was the lowest since March 2020.
We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic. We are not there yet, but the end is in sight."He compared pandemic response efforts to distance running. "A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view.
She runs harder, with all the energy she has left. So must we."Declining cases, deathsCases declined in all WHO regions, and deaths were down in all but Africa, where they rose 10%, the WHO said in the update.
The five countries reporting the most cases were Japan, South Korea, the United States, Russia, and China.The largest drop in cases was in the Western Pacific, where they fell 36%, while the smallest decrease was in Europe, where cases dropped 15%.