Paramedics retrieve a patient from an ambulance outside the emergency department of the Royal London Hospital in London, England, on January 26, 2021.
David Cliff | NurPhoto | Getty images
Most regions of the world are seeing an increase in new Covid-19 cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread, the World Health Organization said Monday.
New cases worldwide are up 8% in the past week, the fifth straight week that the WHO has seen an increase in transmission, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the bureau’s technical chief for Covid-19, to reporters at a press conference.
Cases in Europe, where the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant is spreading rapidly, increased by 12%, Kerkhove said. The WHO has also seen a 49% increase in the number of cases in the Southeast Asia region, an 8% increase in the East Mediterranean and a 29% increase in the Western Pacific, driven by an increase in infections in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, she said.
America and Africa saw a “slight decline,” Kerkhove said, but added that the numbers are generally “alarming.”
“In many of these countries there is pressure to be open and there are difficulties for people and individuals and communities to comply with proven control measures,” she said, adding that there is a “slight increase” in deaths worldwide. has occurred. “We also see that vaccination distribution is uneven and unfair.”
The WHO’s comments come as public health officials around the world are concerned that reopening too soon amid an emergence of new, highly contagious variants could reverse the progress of the global pandemic. Some countries, including the United States, have seen an increase in new Covid-19 cases, even as they vaccinate millions of their citizens every day.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 82.7 million Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and more than 44.9 million have been fully vaccinated.
Still, the seven-day average of new cases is up 5% or more in 27 states as of Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The nation recorded an average of 54,308 new cases per day for the past week – a 1% increase from the previous week after months of rapidly declining case numbers, according to Hopkins data.
Earlier Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the state would likely interrupt its reopening plans now that Covid-19 cases start to accumulate there.
Also on Monday, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky urges all Americans to remain “vigilant” as officials rush to get the majority of Americans vaccinated.
“We are at a critical point in this pandemic,” Walensky said at a White House press conference. “I am afraid that if we don’t take the right measures now, we will have another avoidable wave, just like we are seeing in Europe now.”
Kerkhove urged the public to continue to take safety precautions, including social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, and avoiding crowded areas. She also urged world leaders to prioritize the vaccination of those most at risk.
“There is a lot more that we can do at the individual level, at the community level, as government leaders,” she said.