Noting that Omicron is not mild, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that over 75,000 COVID deaths were reported last week. Meanwhile, the number of reported cases was significantly lower than in the previous weeks, but this was due to a drop in the number of tests.
“I think the biggest concern right now is the increasing number of deaths,” Maria Van Kerkhove said during a virtual panel discussion livestreamed on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
“In the last week alone, we got about 75,000 deaths reported and we know this is an underestimate,” she said.
Speaking further on Omicron, the WHO official said, “In the sequences available, we are seeing an increase in the number of subline BA.2 cases.
“Now across all subtypes, BA.2 is more permeable than BA.1. However, there is no difference in terms of severity.”
The United Nations health agency released its weekly report on COVID-19 on Thursday and according to it, there were more than 16 million new COVID-19 infections and nearly 75,000 deaths worldwide last week.
The Western Pacific was the only region to report an increase in new weekly cases, an increase of about 19%, with Southeast Asia recording a decrease of about 37%, the biggest drop globally. The number of deaths increased by 38% in the Middle East and by almost a third in the Western Pacific.
Russia saw the largest number of new COVID-19 cases. Cases in Eastern Europe and elsewhere have doubled in recent weeks, driven by the growth of the Omicron variant.
Regarding the drop in the number of cases, WHO’s head of emergencies Mike Ryan said, “Countries that claim their transmission has dropped two to six weeks ago have seen a drop in testing rates.”
The WHO earlier this week urged governments to improve vaccination rates and rapid testing as infections rose from the Omicron version of the coronavirus, particularly in Eastern Europe.
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