According to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the pandemic, the number of new cases of coronavirus has been reported worldwide continued to decline except for two regions: America and Africa.

The United Nations health agency noticed that In America, infections increased by 14%, while in Africa, that number became 12%. Cases have remained stable in the Western Pacific and have fallen in other parts of the world, according to the agency.

In its report on Wednesday, the WHO said that some 3.5 million new cases and more than 25,000 deaths, that is represents a decrease of 12% and 25%, respectively.

The downward trend in reported infections started in Marchalthough many countries have dismantled their extensive monitoring and testing programs, making it very difficult to accurately track cases.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned at a news conference this week that “increasing cases in more than 50 countries underline the volatility of this virus”.

Tedros noted that COVID-19 variants, such as mutated versions of the infectious variant of Omicron, have driven increased outbreaks in several countries, including South Africa, which was first identified by Omicron in November.

The relatively high survival rate in the population prevented an increase in hospitalizations and deathssays Tedros, although “it’s not guaranteed in areas where vaccination levels are low.” Only about 16% of people in poor countries are vaccinated against COVID-19.

The WHO report said some of the largest increases in COVID-19 cases were seen in China, which recorded a 145% increase from last week.

Chinese authorities restrictions increased this week in Shanghai after a brief reopening.

The decision failed with neighbors hoping the detention declared more than a month ago would finally be loosened, after complaints about food shortages and quarantines in which some people were forced to give up their house keys.

Tedros said Tuesday that he does not believe China’s “zero COVID” strategy is sustainable “given how the virus behaves today and what we expect in the future.”

North Korea announced on Thursday first outbreak of coronavirus and imposed a national quarantine.

The extent of the outbreak was unknown at first, but it could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health system and is believed to most of the 26 million residents here are not vaccinated.

Source: AP