52pc increase in Covid-19 cases globally during last 28 days: WHO

ISLAMABAD: The number of new Covid-19 cases has increased by 52 percent during the 28-day period of 20 November to 17 December 2023 as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 850,000 new cases reported, World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.

Although the number of new deaths decreased by 8 percent as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 3,000 new fatalities reported, as of 17 December 2023, over 772 million confirmed cases and nearly seven million deaths have been reported globally.

WHO issued a new Covid-19 epidemiological update on the global and regional situation with information on hospitalizations, ICU admissions, updates on the variants of interest and variants under monitoring.

During the period from 13 November to 10 December 2023, over 118,000 new Covid-19 hospitalizations and over 1,600 new intensive care unit (ICU) admissions have been recorded with an overall increase of 23 percent and 51 percent respectively amongst the countries reporting consistently within the current and past reporting periods, WHO said. As of 18 December 2023, JN.1, a sub-lineage of BA.2.86 Omicron variant, has been designated a separate variant of interest (VOI) apart from its parent lineage BA.2.86 due to its rapid increase in prevalence in recent weeks. Globally, EG.5 remains to be the most reported variant of interest.

Earlier, WHO had said that due to its rapidly increasing spread, WHO is classifying the variant JN.1 as a separate variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86. It was previously classified as VOI as part of BA.2.86 sublineages.

Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low. Despite this, with the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, JN.1 could increase the burden of respiratory infections in many countries.

WHO is continuously monitoring the evidence and will update the JN.1 risk evaluation as needed.

Current vaccines continue to protect against severe disease and death from JN.1 and other circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

Covid-19 is not the only respiratory disease circulating but Influenza, RSV and common childhood pneumonia are on the rise.

WHO advised people to take measures to prevent infections and severe disease using all available tools, which include wearing a mask when in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated areas, keeping a safe distance from others as feasible, practicing respiratory etiquette i.e. covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning hands regularly, and staying up to date with vaccinations against Covid-19 and influenza.

WHO further advised to get tested if one has got symptoms or might have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 or influenza.