Over 10 Million Confirmed Cases Worldwide in One Week (Summary)

Double the All-Time Record

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Due to the spread of the Omicron variant, 10 million people worldwide were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past week.

Bloomberg News reported this on the 3rd (local time), stating, "This is nearly double the previous record of 5.7 million set at the end of April last year." In particular, in the United States and Europe, where the Omicron variant has become dominant, the number of infections is rising sharply in a vertical trend.

In the United States, the average daily new cases over the past week exceeded 400,000 for the first time since the pandemic began. Most states stopped reporting case counts over the recent year-end and New Year holidays, yet the highest record was set. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) predicted, "The number of confirmed cases will increase further with additional reports during this week."

During the same period, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy each recorded average daily new cases exceeding 100,000. The UK is approaching 200,000 with 192,016 cases, while France and Italy reported 162,041 and 102,571 cases respectively. Spain, where the second dose vaccination rate reaches 80%, recorded 82,391 cases, with infections surging 520% over the past two weeks.

Bloomberg News said, "Although it has been two years since the virus emerged and over a year since vaccinations began, the sharp increase in cases has caused disruptions during the year-end and New Year holidays."

However, the number of deaths continued to decline, totaling around 42,480, the lowest level since late October 2020. Analysts suggest that the scale of deaths this year can be forecasted in the coming weeks depending on the spread of Omicron.

Bloomberg News stated, "Initial claims that the Omicron variant is less fatal than other variants require more data to be supported."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.