In the U.S., however, Covid deaths have stayed relatively flat. The country’s weekly average of 478 deaths a day is far above that from July 2021, its lowest point ever.
The Covid pandemic may be nearing a close, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
New weekly deaths reached their lowest point last week since March 2020. The WHO recorded around 11,000 deaths globally the week of Sept. 5-11, a 22% decrease from the previous week.
New weekly cases also fell by 28% in that time, from nearly 4.2 million during the week of Aug. 29 to Sept. 4 to around 3.1 million last week, according to the WHO.
“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing Wednesday. “We are not there yet, but the end is in sight.”
But Tedros warned Wednesday that countries might see “more variants, more deaths, more disruption and more uncertainty” if they ease up on efforts to test, vaccinate and treat.
The WHO is responsible for declaring an end to Covid as a public health emergency of international concern, a designation it reserves for the most serious global disease outbreaks. Tedros didn’t indicate Wednesday that such a declaration was imminent.
“A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view,” Tedros said. “She runs harder, with all the energy she has left. So must we. We can see the finish line. We’re in a winning position. But now is the worst time to stop running.
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