Key Highlights:
- The U.N. Health agency has previously commented that the acute phase of the pandemic could end in 2022.
- Despite the month-long decline, COVID cases started to increase globally in the last week.
- Europe might face another COVID wave, given the rise in cases since the beginning of March.
Last week, China had hit a record high of positive cases with nearly half the country under lockdown. The world is gradually returning to normalcy with minimal to no COVID restrictions. However, there has been a sudden spike in cases. WHO has stated that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is a long way off, citing a rise in cases in the latest week data.
The U.N. Health agency has previously commented that the acute phase of the pandemic could end in 2022 however it would depend on how quickly they meet the target to vaccinate 70% of the population in each country, among other factors.
China under Lockdown
In the Geneva media briefing, when a journalist asked about the pandemic’s end, Margaret Harris said that the pandemic was far from over. She added, “We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic.”
Despite the month-long decline, COVID cases started to increase globally in the last week, commented the WHO. Currently, there are lockdowns initiated in Asia and China provinces battling to contain the outbreak.
Fourth Wave on the rise
The sudden surge in COVID-19 has been due to a combination of factors. It included the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its sub-variant BA.2 and lifting of public health and social measures, states the WHO. BA.2 appears to be the most transmissible variant but has no sign of severe disease.
- New positive cases surged by 8% globally as compared to last week. The biggest surge was seen in the Western Pacific region which includes South Korea and China, the cases rose by 25%.
- Africa has reported a 12% rise in new cases and a 14% rise in the death toll.
- Europe reported a 2% rise in cases but no increase in death rates.
Experts are stating that Europe might face another COVID wave, given the rise in cases since the beginning of March.
