According to the World Health Organisation, the highly-transmissible delta variant of COVID-19 has now been reported in 135 countries. It further stated that the cumulative number of coronavirus Globally reported cases could exceed 200 million by next week. However, figures from official sources compiled by AFP said cases have already exceeded the feared number.
The COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update released by the WHO on August 3 said that globally 132 countries have reported cases of the beta version and 81 countries with the gamma version. It said cases of the alpha variant have been reported in 182 countries, regions or territories, while 135 countries have reported cases of the delta variant, which was first identified in India.
The global number of new cases has been rising for more than a month, with more than 4 million cases reported in the past week – from July 26 to August 1, the update said.
The number of infections is currently rising rapidly, driven primarily by the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant, but the number of deaths is increasing at a slower rate. AFP data shown.
This rising trend is mainly attributable to substantial growth in the eastern Mediterranean and western Pacific regions, which registered growth of 37 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively, over the previous week, while the Southeast Asia region registered a growth of 9 per cent. . Said it. Overall, the number of deaths reported this week decreased by 8 percent compared to the previous week, with more than 64,000 deaths.
However, the western Pacific and eastern Mediterranean regions reported a sharp increase in new deaths over the past week, registering an increase of 48 percent and 31 percent, respectively. The cumulative number of reported cases globally now stands at about 197 million and the cumulative number of deaths is 4.2 million.
If these trends continue, the cumulative number of cases reported globally could exceed 200 million by next week, the update said. At the country level, the United States (543,420 new cases; an increase of 9 percent), India (283,923 new cases; an increase of 7 percent), Indonesia (273,891 new cases); 5 percent decrease), Brazil (247,830 new cases; a 24 percent decrease), and Iran (206,722 new cases; a 27 percent increase).
The Southeast Asia region reported a 9 percent increase in new cases compared to the previous week (more than 841,000 cases), while the number of weekly deaths remained the same as last week (22,000 deaths). The region reported the highest number of new cases from India (283,923 new cases; 20.6 new cases per 100,000; 7 percent increase), Indonesia (273,891 new cases; 100.1 new cases per 100,000; a 5 percent decrease) and Thailand. (118,012 new cases; 169.1 new cases per 100,000; an increase of 26 percent).
The cases in India, Indonesia and Thailand account for 80 per cent of the new cases reported from the region. The highest number of new deaths were reported from Indonesia (12,444 new deaths; 4.5 new deaths per 100,000; an increase of 28 per cent), India (3,800 new deaths; one new death per 100,000; a 45 per cent decrease), and Myanmar. (2620 new deaths; 4.8 new deaths per 100,000; an increase of 24 percent).
Amid rising cases of the delta variant and vaccine disparity, the WHO has called for a moratorium on booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine until at least the end of September, noting the disparity in vaccination levels in low- and high-income countries. Did. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news conference on Wednesday that while high-income countries have now administered about 100 doses for every 100 people, low-income countries have been able to provide only 1.5 doses for every 100 people. . supply shortage.
“We need an urgent reversal from most vaccines going to high-income countries to most vaccines going to low-income countries,” he said. Accordingly, WHO is calling for a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September, so that at least 10% of every country’s population can be vaccinated, the WHO chief said.
WHO aims to support every country to vaccinate at least 10 percent of its population by the end of September, at least 40 percent by the end of this year and 70% by the middle of next year. The global health agency urged everyone affected by Olympic athletes, investors, business leaders, faith leaders and everyone in their own family and community to support their call for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September.
He added that ensuring increased vaccination coverage in low-income countries requires everyone’s cooperation, especially for the handful of countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines. So far, more than four billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally and more than 80% have gone to high- and upper-middle-income countries, even though they account for less than half of the world’s population. are responsible.
And yet while hundreds of millions of people are still waiting for their first dose, some wealthy countries are moving to a booster dose, Ghebreyesus said. Emphasizing that while he understands the concern of all governments to protect their people from the delta variant, Ghebreyesus said, we cannot accept countries that already have too much of the global supply of vaccines. The weakest people in the world remain vulnerable. In response to the Delta boom, the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator is launching the Rapid ACT-Accelerator Delta Response, or RADAR, urgent call for $7.7 billion for tests, treatments and vaccines.
(with PTI inputs)
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