The total COVID-19 death number reported for last week is 69,000, which the WHO deems as a “sharp” increase.
Many countries around the globe are experiencing new waves of the pandemic. This is why the COVID-19 death toll and case numbers are showing increasing trends in recent weeks.
Experts and officials remain committed, though, to leading the fight against the global crisis. But, despite continuing the vaccine rollouts and re-imposing restrictions, these seemingly appear to be not enough.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization released the figures and data, covering new deaths and cases around the globe. During its weekly epidemiological update, the agency noted a “sharp” increase in both aspects, according to the Hindustan Times.
COVID-19 death toll spike last week
The official updates from the World Health Organization emerged on Wednesday. It covers the data from the past week, leading up to July 25.
The health agency said that the COVID-19 death toll “jumped” 21 percent over the said period. In figures, this equates to 69,000 deaths, adding that the Americas and Southeast Asia account for most of the number.
As explained, the record showed 2.8 and 1.1 new deaths per 100,000 population, respectively. This consequently placed the two regions on top of the list, making them the areas with the highest COVID-19 death number in the past week.
Delta variant as the driving force
The “sharp” increase in the past week’s COVID-19 death toll comes as the Delta variant continues to wreak havoc across the globe. Accordingly, the number of cases saw a spike, as well, during the same timeframe.
The World Health Organization said that the overall cases jumped by 8 percent, with 540,000 being the average daily infections. The U.S., Brazil, Britain, India, and Indonesia reportedly account for most of the transmissions.
With these figures, the health agency warned the public regarding the rise of COVID-19 cases. As asserted, the total number of coronavirus infections could exceed 200 million in the next two weeks “if these trends continue.”
The coronavirus pandemic today
As of July 30, the cumulative number of coronavirus cases has reached more than 197.5 million. The United States, India, and Brazil remain as the top countries with the highest total number of infections.
Meanwhile, the current COVID-19 death toll is 4,218, 245. Worldometer reports that the weekly death rate of change has increased to 10 percent. As for the weekly case rate of change, it is now up by 9 percent.
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