Coronavirus cases and deaths had been increasing for nearly two months. “As long as this virus is circulating anywhere, it’s a threat everywhere,” said Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. New global corona virus cases and deaths appear to be leveling off after increasing for nearly two months, according to the World Health Organization. "After increasing for nearly two months, the global number of COVID-19 cases and deaths was stable last week," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on Wednesday. "But it is stable at a very high level: more than 4.5 million cases and 68,000 deaths."
The situation also varies across regions. For example, the Americas saw an 8% increase in new cases last week, and the Western Pacific reported an increase of 20%. Europe and the Americas reported increases in new deaths of 11% and 10% respectively, according to WHO. "As long as this virus is circulating anywhere, it's a threat everywhere," Tedros said. The U.S. reported the highest number of new cases of any country last week at over 1 million. Just over 51% of the country is fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tedros and other WHO members during the press conference continued to advise against booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine while low-income countries struggle to get enough doses to cover their most vulnerable. The U.S., however, appears poised to move forward with its plan to start administering booster shots this fall, pending approval from certain agencies. Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday reported interim trial data that it said supports giving a second dose of the shot.
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