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October 14, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

According to the World Health Organization's most recent weekly assessment of the pandemic, published on October 13, there were approximately 2.8 million new cases and 46,000 confirmed deaths recorded worldwide between October 4 and October 10, representing a 7 percent and 10 percent decrease respectively. The U.N. health agency reported that the number of global coronavirus cases has decreased, continuing a downward trend that began in late August.

However, Europe reported a 7% increase in cases, while the rest of the world reported a decrease. According to the WHO, Europe had the highest increase in deaths, with 11% more COVID-19 deaths. The countries with the highest number of new cases in Europe are the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Russia. The greatest reductions in cases occurred in Africa and the Western Pacific, where case numbers fell by 32% and 27%, respectively. Deaths in both regions have decreased by more than a third.

Since the coronavirus was discovered in late 2019 in China, approximately 4.8 million people have died from COVID-19 around the world. According to the WHO, if excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to COVID-19 is considered, the pandemic's true overall toll could be two to three times higher than official figures.

Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, stated on October 13 at a media briefing in Geneva that, while the number of weekly reported deaths from COVID-19 continues to decline and is now at the lowest level in almost a year, it remains unacceptably high, at nearly 50,000 deaths per week.