Global Covid-19 cases up by 11 per cent last week

The World Health Organization says the number of Covid19 cases recorded worldwide increased by 11 per cent last week compared with the previous week with the biggest increase in the Americas The gain followed a gradual increase since OctoberThe UN health agency said in its weekly epidemiological report late Tuesday that there were nearly 499 million newly reported cases in the world from Dec 2026 Europe had more than half the total with 284 mn though that amounted to only a 3 per cent increase over previous week It also had the highest infection rate of any region with 3046 new cases per 100000 residentsA man is tested at the site at Nomi Health PicsAPWho said that new cases in the Americas were up 39 per cent to nearly 148 million and the region had the secondhighest infection rate with 1444 new cases per 100000 residents The US alone saw more than 118 million cases a 34 per cent increaseReported new cases in Africa were up 7 per cent to nearly 275000 The agency said that ldquothe overall risk related to the new variant hellip omicron remains very highrdquo It cited ldquoconsistent evidencerdquo that it has a growth advantage over the delta variant which remains dominant in parts of the worldAn Orange County family gets tested on the first day of the new Covid19 drivethru testing site hosted by Orange County Health Services in Orlando Florida on Monday PicAPIt noted that a decline in case incidence has been seen in South Africa and that early data from that country the UK and Denmark suggest a reduced risk of hospitalization with omicron But it said that more data is needed ldquoto understand the clinical markers of severity including the use of oxygen mechanical ventilation and death and how severity may be impacted by vaccination andor prior hellip infectionrdquoThe WHO said that the number of newly reported deaths worldwide last week was down 4 per cent to 4468044680No of newly reported deaths worldwide last week 455944 No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours280119931 Total no of cases worldwide5403662 Total no of deaths worldwideAntibodies that can block Omicron variant identifiedScientists have identified antibodies that neutralise Omicron and other variants of coronavirus by targeting areas that remain essentially unchanged as the virus mutates The research published in the journal Nature may help design vaccines and antibody treatments that will be effective against not only Omicron but other variants that may emerge in the future ldquoThis finding tells us that by focusing on antibodies that target these highly conserved sites on the spike protein there is a way to overcome the virusrsquo continual evolutionrdquo said David Veesler an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in the USOmicron a lsquoseasonal cold virusrsquo US docTerming the Omicron variant as nothing more than a ldquoseasonal cold virusrdquo a USbased cardiologist has warned against ldquooverreaction and overreachrdquo by government agencies saying their actions are causing panic and providing misinformation In a series of tweets on Tuesday Afshine Emrani Medical Director at Los Angeles Heart Specialists suggested zcountries should not test for Omicron and instead focus on providing ldquopsychological and financial assistancerdquo to people Emrani claimed Omicron is ldquoliterallyrdquo the vaccine that vaccine companies could not make He added that within ldquo812 weeks the world will be vaccinatedrdquo due to the spread of the virus ldquoThere is little we can do to stop this virus from infecting 80 per cent of the population Masks Vaccine card mandates will make no difference Sure people who are vaccinated have a much lower chance of dying or getting hospitalizedrdquo he said ldquoThe biggest threat remains in overreaction and overreach by government agencies causing panic providing misinformation leading to closures that hurt those most vulnerable among usrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever