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The pace of daily new Covid-19 infections of the coronavirus has nearly doubled in the past week, surpassing two million known cases a day, underscoring just how quickly the Omicron variant has spread around the world.
On April 25 last year, the global average hit a high of more than 8,27,000 cases, a level that has been surpassed on each of the last 12 days as the world’s case curve charts a nearly vertical rise. Authorities around the world reported 2.1 million cases on average in the past seven days, nearly three times the amount two weeks ago, according to a NYT database.
New global case numbers have soared by 270% since Omicron strain was discovered in South Africa in late November, according to an AFP tally. But Covid-related deaths were at lowest level since October 2020, with an average of 6,237 per day recorded in the period between January 1 and 7. The surge, however, has overwhelmed health facilities from the US to Europe, and led companies, schools and governments to curb services because of a shortage of workers. The latest spike has also led to new restrictions around the world and discussions of booster shots.
The latest wave of cases has been driven by outbreaks in the US and Europe, where the Omicron has become dominant. The two regions respectively represented 49% and 33% of global cases in the past week. Covid cases skyrocketed by 47% in Europe and 76% in the US and Canada compared with the previous week. In the same period, Covid infections increased by 224% in Oceania, 148% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 116% in the Middle East and 145% in Asia.
On April 25 last year, the global average hit a high of more than 8,27,000 cases, a level that has been surpassed on each of the last 12 days as the world’s case curve charts a nearly vertical rise. Authorities around the world reported 2.1 million cases on average in the past seven days, nearly three times the amount two weeks ago, according to a NYT database.
New global case numbers have soared by 270% since Omicron strain was discovered in South Africa in late November, according to an AFP tally. But Covid-related deaths were at lowest level since October 2020, with an average of 6,237 per day recorded in the period between January 1 and 7. The surge, however, has overwhelmed health facilities from the US to Europe, and led companies, schools and governments to curb services because of a shortage of workers. The latest spike has also led to new restrictions around the world and discussions of booster shots.
The latest wave of cases has been driven by outbreaks in the US and Europe, where the Omicron has become dominant. The two regions respectively represented 49% and 33% of global cases in the past week. Covid cases skyrocketed by 47% in Europe and 76% in the US and Canada compared with the previous week. In the same period, Covid infections increased by 224% in Oceania, 148% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 116% in the Middle East and 145% in Asia.
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