MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2023) The number of coronavirus infections increased by nearly 481% in Southeast Asia and 144% in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in a month but the global incidence and COVID-19-related fatalities are declining, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a monthly report on Thursday.
"At the regional level, the number of newly reported 28-day cases decreased across four of the six WHO regions: the African Region (-45%), the Western Pacific Region (-39%), the Region of the Americas (-33%), and the European Region (-22%); while case numbers increased in two WHO regions: the South-East Asia Region (+481%)and the Eastern Mediterranean Region (+144%)," the report said.
The highest rise in incidence was reported in Nepal, a 1,198% increase from 49 to 636 new cases, in India, a 937% increase from 6,374 to 66,124 new cases, and in the Maldives, a 614% increase from 21 to 150 cases, the WHO said.
According to the report, in the last 28 days, from March 13 to April 9, 3 million new infections and over 23,000 deaths were reported, a decrease of 28% and 30%, respectively, compared to the previous month.
The WHO specified that the number of COVID-19-related fatalities increased by 109% in Southeast Asia and 138% in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in the reported period.
As of April 9, more than 762 million confirmed coronavirus cases and over 6.8 million COVID-19-related fatalities have been recorded worldwide, the organization said.
