WHO reports increase in COVID-19 incidence worldwide

The number of COVID-19 cases reported between July 17 and August 13 increased by 63 per cent relative to the previous 28 days. At the same time, the number of deaths caused by coronavirus infection decreased by 56 per cent.

More than 1.4 million people were infected worldwide during the period, and more than 2,300 died, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) weekly epidemiological summary (.pdf).

Within 28 days, 104 of 234 countries (44 per cent) reported at least one reported case of COVID-19 to WHO. Regionally, the number of newly reported cases during the 28-day period decreased in four of the five WHO regions: African (-80 per cent), South-East Asia (-51 per cent), European (-18per cent) Eastern Mediterranean (-16 per cent). However, the Western Pacific Region recorded a 97 per cent increase in incidence. The number of newly reported deaths from July 17 to August 13 decreased in all five reporting regions.

The WHO stressed that COVID-19 remains a "major threat" despite the end of the emergency regime that the organisation declared on May 5. In addition, the WHO drew attention to the increasing spread of a new variant omicron strain of coronavirus infection, EG.5 "Eris". As of August 17, it had been detected in 50 countries. A week earlier, there were 48 such countries.

The EG.5 strain was first registered on February 17. The organisation announced the spread of the new variant of the Omicron strain in the world on August 10. At the same time, the WHO believes that the new variant of the coronavirus does not pose a great risk to the population "at the global level". Rospotrebnadzor said that the agency did not record the widespread spread of the EG.5 Eris coronavirus in Russia.