Covid-19 pandemic 'far from over': WHO lists factors for increase in cases globally

"We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic," a WHO spokesperson said.

File Photo (Credits: WHO)

New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday (March 18, 2022) said that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly data.

Asked by a journalist at a Geneva media briefing about the timing of the pandemic's end, Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson, said it was "far from over". 

"We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic," she added.

After more than a month of decline, coronavirus cases have started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China's Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak.

Why are Covid-19 cases increasing again?

The WHO said that a combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant. It also stated that the lifting of public health and social measures is also behind the latest surge in Covid-19 cases. 

It is notable that the UN health agency had previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70% of the population in each country, among other factors.

Global rise in new Covid-19 cases just a 'tip of the iceberg'

Earlier on March 16, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said that the increase is occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the "cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg". 

He had also called on all countries to remain vigilant and continue to vaccinate, test, sequence, provide early care for patients, and apply "common-sense public health measures" to protect health workers and the public. 

Reported #COVID19 cases are again increasing despite reductions in testing, which means the cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg. We call on countries to continue to:
Vaccinate
Test
Sequence
Provide early care for patients
Apply common-sense public health measures pic.twitter.com/qjmcrA88kh — Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 17, 2022

Low vaccination rates in some countries, driven partly by a "huge amount of misinformation" also explained the rise, WHO officials said. 

New infections jumped by 8% globally compared to the previous week, with 11 million new cases and just over 43,000 new deaths reported from March 7-13. It is the first rise since the end of January.

The biggest jump was in the WHO`s Western Pacific region, which includes South Korea and China, where cases rose by 25% and deaths by 27%.

Africa also saw a 12% rise in new cases and a 14% rise in deaths, and Europe a 2% rise in cases but no jump in deaths. Other regions reported declining cases, including the eastern Mediterranean region, although this area saw a 38% rise in deaths linked to a previous spike in infections.

Globally, as of March 18, there have been over 46.48 crore confirmed cases of Covid-19, including more than 60.62 lakh deaths, reported to WHO. On the other hand, around 10,92,50,55,390 vaccine doses have been administered across the world.

(With agency inputs)