Global COVID-19 Deaths Drop by 8%, But the US Still Among Countries With Highest Cases: WHO Report

The number of new coronavirus cases worldwide declined by 21% last week, marking the third week in a row that COVID-19 infections have decreased, according to the World Health Organization.

According to WHO's weekly pandemic report, more than 12 million new coronavirus infections were reported last week. The number of new COVID-19 fatalities declined by 8% to almost 67,000 globally, marking the first weekly drop since early January.

Omicron Variant Remains Dominant Worldwide

With a 29 percent increase in COVID-19 cases, the Western Pacific was the only area to have an increase, whereas the number of infections everywhere declined dramatically. The number of new fatalities increased in the Western Pacific and Africa, while it decreased in the rest of the world. Russia, Germany, Brazil, the United States, and South Korea saw the newest COVID-19 instances.

According to the WHO, Omicron is still the most common viral variant globally, accounting for more than 99 percent of sequences shared with the world's largest virus database. It claimed that Delta was the only other significant variance, accounting for less than 1% of all shared sequences, as per ABC News.

President Xi Jinping of China warned Hong Kong leaders that their "overriding task" was to stabilize the city's worsening COVID-19 situation as local officials fight to contain the disease's deadliest outbreak. Xi's directives came after reports emerged from Hong Kong that the financial hub's health system had been overrun by Covid-19, with infected patients being forced to sleep on mattresses outside hospitals.

Meanwhile, as a result of an unusual surge of illnesses caused by the fast-moving Omicron variety, South Korea will begin distributing free quick test kits to schools and eldercare institutions next week.

Health officials announced the largest daily increase in infections on Wednesday, with 90,443 new cases, surpassing the previous one-day record of more than 33,000 cases established on Tuesday. According to some analysts, the country might witness about 200,000 cases each day in March.

On Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth II attended her first official engagements in person since last week's worries that she could have acquired the coronavirus. Buckingham Palace has not said if the queen, who celebrated her 70th year on the throne earlier this month, has done any COVID-19 testing, Hindustan Times reported.

Global Trial Investigates Impact of Reduced Booster Shots

On Tuesday, a worldwide clinical study was initiated to evaluate the impact of reduced COVID-19 booster doses, rather than full ones, as a strategy to expand vaccine access in areas where immunization rates are still low.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in Oslo and Australia's Murdoch Children's Research Institute launched the experiment, with the findings likely to guide future immunization programs.

The information might also reveal whether partial doses generate fewer negative effects in receivers than full doses and whether mixing and matching vaccination regimens is a good idea. Up to 3,300 healthy people from Australia, Indonesia, and Mongolia are expected to participate.

The announcement comes as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that all COVID-19 limitations in England had been lifted, including the obligation to self-isolate following a positive test. Scientists have lambasted the decision, fearing it could jeopardize the country's capacity to monitor and track the infection.

The new strategy calls for vaccinations and treatments to prevent the virus from becoming widespread in the country. Those aged 75 and above and those aged 12 and up who have disorders that render them prone to serious disease will be provided a fourth vaccination shot.

Throughout the pandemic, experts have chastised Johnson's Tory administration for closing down later than others, reopening too fast, and, more recently, for a series of parties thrown at Downing Street in violation of lockdown orders.

Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, apologized at a Parliamentary session for attending a party on Downing Street in 2020 when draconian COVID-19 lockdown measures were in place. Johnson claimed he thought it was a "work-related incident."

COVID-19 cases in the United States are still declining, down more than 80% from their mid-January peak when Omicron was sweeping the country.

According to a New York Times tracker, the US averages 89,024 cases per day, down 65 percent from two weeks ago. Hospitalizations are down 43 percent from two weeks earlier, averaging 65,681 each day. And fatalities are down 19 percent from two weeks ago, averaging 2,096 each day.

The tracker indicates that cases are decreasing in every state. However, the states with the most recent hospitalizations are West Virginia, Alabama, and Kentucky, according to Market Watch via MSN.