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Coronavirus pandemic

WHO reports new weekly COVID record of over 15 million cases

The largest case count surge from January 3 to 9 was registered in the US

GENEVA, January 12. /TASS/. Over 15 million people contracted COVID during the past week, which is a new record for the entire pandemic. This is 55% higher than the previous seven days, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Tuesday, adding that the number of fatalities increased by 3%.

According to the WHO weekly epidemic bulletin, the number of registered COVID cases rose sharply between January 3 and 9, with over 15 million new cases. Meanwhile, five out of six WHO regions informed the Organization about a rise in cases, while Africa reported an 11% decrease. Southeastern Asia and the Western Pacific region report particularly high numbers: a 418% and 122% increase, correspondingly. Surges in cases were also reported in Europe (31%), America (78%), and the Eastern Mediterranean (86%). The fatality rate climbed significantly in Africa (84%) and America (26%), while Europe reports a 10% drop in deaths, Southeastern Asia reports a 6% decline in fatalities, and the Eastern Mediterranean reports an 11% drop in mortalities.

Overall, in the past seven days, the WHO received reports of 15,154,666 COVID cases and 43,461 fatalities, which is 55% and 3% more than the week from December 27 to January 2, respectively. The largest case count surge from January 3 to 9 was registered in the US (4,610,359 cases, a 73% increase compared to the previous week), followed by France (1,597,203, a 46% increase), the UK (1,217,258, a 10% increase), Italy (1,014,358, a 57% increase) and India (638,872 cases, a 524% increase).

According to the Organization, by January 11, a total of 308,458,509 infection cases and 5,492,595 deaths had been registered globally. In the past 24 hours, 1,738,701 cases and 5,150 deaths were documented. The most cases were recorded in the US (59,848,136), followed by India (35,875,790) and Brazil (22,523,907). The greatest amount of deaths was registered in the US (831,548), followed by Brazil (619,981) and India (484,213).

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