Global COVID Deaths Drop 90% since February: WHO
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – COVID-19 related deaths dropped 90% globally this week compared to the steep toll recorded in February, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday.
About 9,400 people died from the novel virus last week, a staggering drop from the approximately 75,000 weekly deaths seen each week in February, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, The New York Post reported.
“We have come a long way,” Ghebreyesus said. “And this is definitely cause for optimism.”
COVID-19 cases across the planet have been decreasing over the last several weeks as well, the WHO said.
There were just over 2.1 million newly registered cases reported last week, a 15% drop from the previous week. Deaths for the same time period decreased by 10%, the WHO said.
There were about 266,100 cases reported in the US last week, the third-highest number of any country, and 2,480 deaths, a 20% drop from the week before.
Japan and South Korea reported over 357,400 and 311,200 new cases, respectively, the highest in the globe.
WHO COVID technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove warned that there is a “substantial underestimate” on the true circulation of the virus because surveillance and testing have declined.
Though he celebrated the dramatic drop in death rates, Ghebreyesus urged both governments and individuals to remain vigilant against COVID because “almost 10,000 deaths a week is 10,000 too many.”
“Testing and sequencing rates remain low globally,” he said. “Vaccination gaps remain wide, and the continued proliferation of new variants remains concerning.”
