After five-week decline, Covid cases on the rise again: WHO

New Delhi, June 16

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday warned nations for the second time in a week against lowering their guard against Covid, saying deaths were rising after a consistent five-week decline.

“After five weeks of decline, the number of new weekly deaths has risen again, with over 8,700 fatalities reported between June 9 and 15, a 4 per cent increase as compared to the previous week,” the WHO said. The WHO said latest mortality trends should be interpreted with caution as several countries have been progressively changing Covid testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected.

Between June 6 and 12, over 3.2 million cases were reported, similar to the number reported during the previous week, the WHO said.

“Because many nations have reduced surveillance and testing, we know this number is under-reported,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week.