WHO: COVID Deaths on Rise in Mideast, Southeast Asia and Americas

The number of deaths from the COVID-19 virus remained stable last week at about 8,500 worldwide, but was on the rise in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, the World Health Organization said in its latest weekly report on the pandemic.

While the death toll worldwide hasn’t changed, the number of cases is on the rise nearly everywhere, with increasing numbers of new infections reported in 110 countries, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are responsible for most of this spread in infections. The largest rise in the number of new cases was in the Middle East, where infections rose by 47%. They were up 32% in Europe and Southeast Asia, and 14% in the Americas.

“This pandemic is changing, but it’s not over,” Tedros said at a press briefing. He called on countries to immunize their most vulnerable populations, including health workers and people over 60, and said that hundreds of millions remain unvaccinated. The average immunization rate in poor countries is about 13%.

Israel currently leads the Middle East in both daily new cases and deaths per million population. The  Jewish state reports a seven-day rolling average of 1,188 new cases and 0.72 deaths daily per million people as of June 30. Worldwide, 93 new cases and 0.18 deaths per day per million population are reported.