Eastern Mediterranean: The Only Region with a Rise in Covid Deaths. Here’s Why!

Covid cases worldwide have increased by 63%, and they have also grown by 11% in Europe. Italy is among the countries with the most significant increase in infections.

Over a span of 28 days, the largest increases in new cases were recorded in the Republic of Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Regarding deaths during the same period, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and Italy reported the highest numbers.

In the past 28 days, nearly 1.5 million new cases of COVID-19 and over 2,000 deaths were reported across the six WHO regions. This represents a 63% increase in new cases and a 48% decrease in deaths compared to the previous 28 days. Globally, there are over 769 million cases and over 6.9 million deaths. Three WHO regions showed an increase in cases, while two showed a decrease. Most of the WHO regions saw a decrease in deaths, but the Eastern Mediterranean region reported an increase.

Regionally, three out of the five WHO regions showed an increase in new cases, while two saw a decrease. Regarding deaths, four regions reported a decrease, while the Eastern Mediterranean region showed an increase.

During the 28-day period, 27 out of 234 countries reported a total of 49,380 new hospitalizations, while 22 countries reported a total of 646 ICU admissions. This represents a 21% increase in hospitalizations and a 44% decrease in ICU admissions compared to the previous period.

Of the countries that provided data to the WHO in the past 28 days, the European region had the most countries reporting, followed by other regions in decreasing order.

The XBB.1.16 and EG.5 virus variants are currently the most widespread. In epidemiological week 31, XBB.1.16 and EG.5 respectively accounted for 23.9% and 23.8% of sequences.