18 million Covid cases in one week: World Health Organisation

Geneva, January 19

The number of new Covid cases globally rose by 20% last week to more than 18 million, marking a slowdown in the surge caused by the Omicron variant’s spread, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In its weekly report, the WHO said the number of new cases increased in every world region except for Africa, where cases fell by nearly a third. The number of deaths globally remained similar to the previous week, at about 45,000.

In UK, PM Boris Johnson announced lifting the additional curbs, including face masks anywhere, from next Thursday. — Agencies