Last week, new documented cases of COVID-19 worldwide increased for the first time in seven weeks, going from 2.5 to 2.6 million, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO’s Director General stated at Monday briefing: “We’re working to better understand these increases in COVID-19 transmission. Some of it appears to be due to relaxing of public health measures, continued circulation of variants, and people letting down their guard. Vaccines will help to save lives, but if countries rely solely on vaccines, they’re making a mistake. Basic public health measures remain the foundation of the COVID19 response.”
The United States’ consistent decline in cases since the January 8 peak stopped at around 66,000/day, and climbed a bit last week. Also on Monday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky reported: “With these statistics, I am really worried about more states rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from Covid-19. Seventy thousand cases a day seems good compared to where we were just a few months ago… Please hear me clearly: At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained.” She warned of a fourth surge.
