This is likely to be due to changes in the way COVID-19 death reports were made across Americas, as well as new adjusted figures from India.
The U.N.'s latest weekly report on the pandemic said that the number of coronavirus new cases dropped everywhere. This includes in WHO's Western Pacific region where they have been increasing since December.
After a 23% decrease in deaths the week before, approximately 10 million COVID-19-related infections were reported and over 45,000 deaths occurred worldwide.
The increase in deaths reported, from 33,000 last Wednesday, was mainly due to an accounting change. WHO observed that COVID-19 deaths were being redefined differently by countries such as Chile and the United States.
WHO also reported that more than 4,000 deaths in Maharashtra, India, were added to the COVID-19 death statistics last week.
WHO repeatedly stated that COVID-19 cases are likely to underestimate the prevalence of coronavirus. In recent weeks, WHO warned countries against abandoning their extensive testing and other surveillance methods. This would make it difficult to track the virus' spread accurately.
WHO stated that data are "progressively becoming less representative, less reliable and more timely" "This hinders our collective ability track where the virus is, its spreading and how it is changing: information and analyses that are critical for effectively ending the acute phase of the pandemic."
The agency stated that less surveillance could lead to a decrease in detection of new COVID variants, and impede any potential response.
Many countries in Europe, North America, and elsewhere have recently removed nearly all of their COVID-19 protocols. They rely on high levels vaccination to prevent another infection spike, even though the more dangerous omicron subvariant BA.2 has been causing an increase in new cases.
British authorities stated that they do not expect to see an equal increase in the number of cases but have not observed an equivalent rise or decrease in deaths and hospitalizations.
Despite the worldwide decline in cases reported, China has locked down Shanghai this Week to stop an omicron epidemic that has ravaged the country's largest city since Wuhan was infected with the virus in 2019.
Officials in the United States expanded the use vaccine boosters Tuesday. They said that Americans 50 years and older can receive a second booster within four months of their last vaccination.
A AP–NORC poll found that half of Americans don't wear face masks anymore, and they are more likely to avoid crowds or skip travel other than essential.
