WHO Warns Global COVID Cases on the Rise; Brazil a Catastrophe

In yesterday’s press conference in Geneva, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Technical Lead for COVID-19, reported that, on a global scale, new COVID cases had increased by 8% over last week—the fifth week in a row that the WHO has seen an increase in transmission. Dr. Van Kerkhove reported that cases in Europe, where the B.1.1.7 variant is spreading rapidly, had increased by 12% over the past week. Increases are seen everywhere, as the variants continue to spread. Cases in Southeast Asia increased by 49%; by 8% in the Eastern Mediterranean region; and by 29% in the Western Pacific region, driven by increased cases in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. While there was a slight decline in the Americas and Africa, the case numbers in both those locations are “worrisome,” she said, especially given pressures in many countries to “open up,” as populations suffer from “COVID fatigue.”