COVID-19 cases, deaths continue global slide

COVID-19 cases and deaths are continuing to decline worldwide, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), The Associated Press reports.

Global cases of the virus went down 16 percent in the past week and deaths fell by 10 percent, according to the WHO’s data, notes the AP. The drop in COVID-19 deaths first began to be seen worldwide last week, and the WHO data shows that decline is continuing.

The WHO still reported there were approximately 10 million new cases of COVID-19 reported globally in the past week, as well as 60,000 deaths, according to the news outlet.

In the Western Pacific region, coronavirus cases and deaths increased, making it the only region in the world to see an upward trend in COVID-19, along with a 22 percent increase in deaths caused by the virus, the AP reports.

In addition to the global COVID-19 decline, the delta variant has almost entirely been taken over by the omicron variant, according to the WHO. Based on the sequenced viruses worldwide, 99.5 percent of COVID-19 cases have been the omicron variant, while only 0.3 percent of cases have been the delta variant, reports the AP.

Due to the steep drop-off of COVID-19 cases and high vaccination rates, several countries across Europe have entirely removed COVID-19 restrictions. 

Many experts in the United States also predict that due to immunization levels in the U.S. from a combination of vaccination and prior infection, fewer restrictive measures will be needed in the future to control the rate of circulating disease, the AP notes. 

However, the WHO remains wary and cautions that is too soon to declare the pandemic as over, the AP notes. The WHO warned that continued global circulation of COVID-19 could lead to the development of potentially more fatal variants.