Wednesday’s World Health Organization report showed that death rates rose last week, after nine consecutive weeks of decline. The WHO reported more than 55,000 deaths last week, an increase of 3% over the previous week. WHO reported that the WHO recorded an increase of 10% in cases last week to almost 3 million.
The U.N. health agency reported that the top four countries with the most new cases was India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Britain in its weekly report. WHO stated that the more contagious delta variant of the disease has been detected in 111 countries, since it was first identified in India. The mutant version will likely become the most prevalent in the future.
Despite the increase in deaths, the death toll for Argentina’s hard-hit country was close to 100,000. This week, Russian coronavirus cases reached new heights. The number of COVID-19-related infections in Belgium has almost doubled in the last week, thanks to the rising popularity of the delta variant among young people. Britain saw more than 40,000 cases in a single day for the first time since six months.
The United States has one of the highest rates of vaccination. However, the number of new infections per day has doubled in the past week to about 24,000. Deaths are still at around 260 per day.
Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county of the United States, reported more than 1000 new cases Tuesday for the fifth consecutive day.
Tokyo is in a fourth state emergency ahead of the Summer Games. Experts believe that caseloads could increase to more than 1,000 before the Olympics, and then multiply to thousands during games.
This spike has caused additional restrictions in Sydney, Australia. The 5 million residents will be locked down until at least July 31st, which is two weeks more than expected. Due to record-breaking case levels, South Korea has placed its capital under the most severe distancing rules.
Officials in Chicago announced Tuesday that travelers from Missouri or Arkansas who are not vaccinated must be quarantined for 10 days, or undergo a negative COVID-19 testing.
Sadiq Khan, London’s Mayor, asked that all passengers on trains and buses wear masks after restrictions in England have been lifted.
WHO acknowledged that countries are under “considerable pressure” now to remove all precautions, but warned that failure to do so will only increase the spread of the virus.
The pressure to increase vaccinations in the United States is increasing. Olivia Rodrigo, an actress and singer aged 18, planned to meet President Joe Biden on Wednesday to discuss ways to convince young adults to get their shots.
Nearly 160 million Americans have been fully immunized, which is more than 55% of the total population. Young adults, however, have shown less interest.
Ohio will announce a new prize program to increase its vaccination rate. Gov. Mike DeWine asked the government to approve the vaccines fully, not just emergency authorization. This would help people feel more confident.
He said, “That will help us in Ohio and across America to get more people vaccinated.”