The World Health Organization on Wednesday said that the rise in coronavirus cases in some countries could be the “tip of the iceberg” and warned that the pandemic is not over.
The number of new coronavirus infections jumped by 8% last week globally, as 1.1 crore new cases and over 43,000 deaths were recorded between March 7 and March 13, according to Reuters. It is the first weekly rise in cases since the end of January.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said local outbreaks and a surge in the number of cases are to be expected in the coming days, particularly in areas with low measures to avoid transmission of the virus.
“These increases [in Covid cases] are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries,” Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing. “Which means the cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg.”
The biggest rise in cases was recorded in WHO’s western Pacific region, which includes South Korea China, where cases increased by 25% and deaths by 27% between March 7 and March 13, Reuters reported.
At least 10 cities and counties in China have been locked down because of the latest surge in the Covid-19 cases, driven by the Omicron variant of the virus.
At Wednesday’s briefing, the WHO chief said that various countries were facing different situations with different challenges.
“We call on all countries to remain vigilant,” he said. “Continue to vaccinate, test, sequence, provide early care for patients, and apply common-sense public health measures to protect health workers and the public.”
Epidemiologist and WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, said that the rise in cases across the world was due to several reasons.
“First is we still have the Omicron, which is transmitting at a very intense level around the world,” Kerkhove said. “Another contributing factor is the lifting of health measures such as masks, physical distancing...We also have incomplete vaccination coverage in many parts of the world.”
Globally, the coronavirus has so far infected 46.38 crore people and caused over 60 lakh deaths since the pandemic began in January 2020, according to the data provided by the John Hopkins University.
India fared better than others, says health ministry
Meanwhile, the Union health ministry on Thursday said that India has managed to control the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus better than other nations, PTI reported. The Indian government said that this has resulted in reduced hospitalisation and fewer deaths druring the third wave of the pandemic, compared to the previous ones.
The Union health ministry said that India contributed to only 0.21% of global Omicron cases.
The ministry attributed this to early identification of cases, seamless admission of patients and effective implementation of clinical management protocols, PTI reported.
“Not only the reported peak in India was much lower, the consistent efforts also led to a decreasing trajectory soon,” Lav Agarwal, joint secretary of the health ministry said.
The ministry further said that when the third wave started in December, India had already given the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to 90.8% of the eligible population. Second doses were administered to almost 65.4% of the population, it said.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!