Covid cases around the world could be due to low testing rates. According to the WHO's data, there were 4.5 million new Covid cases reported last week, a 16% drop from the previous week.
Deaths were also down by 13%, with about 13,500 fatalities. The UN health agency added that coronavirus infection dropped everywhere in the world while deaths decreased everywhere except for Southeast Asia, where they climbed by 15%, and in the Western Pacific, where they rose by 3%.
WHO Director-General Tedros warned that with the coming onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the possible emergence of a more dangerous new Covid-19 variant, experts expect to see a spike in hospitalizations and deaths.
Tedros said vaccination rates, even in rich countries, were still too low, noting that 30% of health workers and 20% of older people remain unimmunized.