Pandemic fades with a fifth fewer cases in a week

THE COVID-19 pandemic continued its retreat this week, with fewer deaths and the number of new cases decreasing in most regions of the world.

Here is a state of play based on AFP's database.

- 22 per cent drop -

After a surge which lasted for three-and-a-half months, the average number of global daily cases dropped for a third week in a row, falling back by 22 per cent to 1.97 million, according to an AFP tally to Thursday.

The confirmed cases only reflect a fraction of the actual number of infections, with varying counting practices and levels of testing in different countries.

- Let up in most regions -

The situation improved in most regions of the world over the past seven days.

The number of daily cases dropped by 43 per cent in the United States/Canada zone, by 35 per cent in the Middle East, by 23 per cent in Europe and the Latin America/Caribbean area and by 22 per cent in Africa.

The situation remained almost stable in Asia, with a one percent fall in cases. They increased by the same amount in Oceania.

- Main spikes -

South East Asia and Oceania saw the biggest spike in the number of new cases this week.

New Zealand registered the biggest increase of 239 per cent, followed by Hong Kong (192 per cent increase), Malaysia (111 per cent more), Vietnam (plus 78 per cent) and South Korea (up 66 per cent).

- Main drops -Sweden saw the biggest drop of the week with 78 per cent fewer cases, followed by Kazakhstan (minus 59 per cent), Kosovo (minus 57 per cent), Colombia (minus 55 per cent) and Suriname (minus 54 per cent).

- Russia overtakes US -

Russia this week overtook the US to register the highest number of new cases with an average of 187,500 infections a day, an increase of six percent.

The US fell to third place, with 119,600 cases per day -- a 44 per cent drop -- well behind Germany with 180,900 cases, a decrease of six per cent.

On a per capita basis, the country with the most new cases over the week was again Denmark with 5,026 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Latvia with 3,635, the Netherlands (2,877), Georgia (2,851) and Estonia (2,777).

- Deaths start to drop -

The number of COVID-linked deaths declined by seven percent globally, with an average of 10,355 per day, after an increase for five weeks in a row.

Even though the highly contagious Omicron variant led at its peak to four times more daily infections than previous waves, daily deaths remain far lower than their record high in January 2021 when they skirted 15,000.

The US again mourned the most deaths this week with an average of 2,300 per day, ahead of Brazil (841) and Russia (726).

The countries reporting the highest death rates in proportion to their population were all in the Balkans or the Caucasus with Bulgaria and Bosnia mourning nine deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Croatia on 8.5, Georgia (8.1) and Northern Macedonia (7.9).