COVID cases are again on the rise globally as testing, health measures decline
After weeks of decline, the global tally of COVID-19 cases is now ticking back up. This uptick is raising concerns that we could see yet another surge amid relaxed health measures and the rise of the omicron subvariant BA.2, the most highly transmissible version of the virus identified to date.
According to the latest COVID-19 situation report by the World Health Organization, the global tally of new weekly cases increased 8 percent for the week ending on March 13, totaling over 11 million cases. Cases are increasing in the Western Pacific, European, and African regions. Korea, Vietnam, Germany, France, and the Netherlands reported the highest numbers of new cases.
"These increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg," director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a press briefing Wednesday. Some countries, such as China, are now grappling with their first surge of omicron cases, while other countries, such as those in Europe, are seeing a resurgence of cases amid the rise of BA.2. The subvariant is thought to be around 30 percent to 40 percent more transmissible than the initial omicron variant that spread worldwide, BA.1.
