The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said the number of COVID-19 cases recorded worldwide increased by 11% last week compared with the previous week, with the biggest increase in the Americas.
In its weekly epidemiological report released late Tuesday, WHO said that there were nearly 4.99 million newly reported cases around the world from December 20-26.
Europe accounted for more than half the total, with 2.84 million, though that amounted to only a 3% increase over the previous week. It also had the highest infection rate of any region, with 304.6 new cases per 100,000 residents.
WHO said that new cases in the Americas were up 39% to nearly 1.48 million, and the region had the second-highest infection rate with 144.4 new cases per 100,000 residents. The U.S. alone saw more than 1.18 million cases, a 34% increase.
Reported new cases in Africa were up 7% to nearly 275,000.
The WHO said the overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains "very high".
"Consistent evidence shows that the Omicron has a growth advantage over the Delta with a doubling time of 2-3 days and rapid increases in the incidence of cases is seen in a number of countries, including those where the variant has become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant," WHO said. However, a decline in the incidence of cases has now been observed in South Africa, it added.
"Early data from the UK, South Africa and Denmark suggests there is a reduced risk of hospitalization for the Omicron compared to the Delta variant," WHO further said but added that further data are needed to understand the clinical markers of severity including the use of oxygen, mechanical ventilation and death, and how severity may be impacted by vaccination.
(With AP and ANI inputs)
