Though global COVID-19 cases overall continue to fall, illness levels rose in Africa and the Americas for the second week in a row, led by a trio of Omicron subvariants, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its weekly pandemic update.Numbers show only part of global pictureCases declined for a sixth week in a row, and deaths are at the lowest level since March 2020.
Though the trends are welcome, they don't tell the whole story, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director-general of the WHO, said today at a briefing.
He said Omicron subvariants are driving increases in Africa and the Americas.In Africa, cases were up 31% compared to the week before, and in the Americas, case rose 13%.In Africa, 12 countries last week saw cases rise by more than 20%, but most of the new infections were reported by South Africa, which saw a 67% increase compared with the previous week.
Last week, the country's health officials said the country was experiencing rising proportions of BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, and they warned that a fifth surge could be under way.Meanwhile, in the Americas, 22 countries reported weekly rises of 20% or more last week.