The World Health Organization (WHO) report said that at the regional level, the number of new cases in 28 days (from March 13 to April 9) decreased in 4 out of 6 regions: Africa decreased by 45%, Western Pacific decreased by 39%, Americas decreased by 33% and Europe decreased by 22%.
However, this figure increased in two regions, Southeast Asia by 481% and the Eastern Mediterranean by 144%.
According to WHO, in the past month, a total of 3 million new cases of Covid-19 were recorded worldwide and more than 23 thousand deaths were caused by the disease. Globally, the incidence and mortality rates related to Covid-19 are decreasing.
It is not yet clear which variant is responsible for the surge in cases in Southeast Asia, but in India and many other countries, the main cause is related to XBB.1.16 (also known as Arcturus), a variant of the Omicron strain. This variant has been detected in more than 20 countries and is rampant in India.
India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on April 13 that the country recorded 10,158 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. According to the agency, this is the first number of Covid-19 cases to exceed 10,000 in 223 days since September 2, 2022. The total number of Covid-19 cases in India is 40,215, bringing the total number of cases recorded in the country to 44,210,127.
According to WHO, Arcturus is a virus that was first discovered in late January 2023 and is a recombination of two variants of the Omicron strain, BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75.
WHO believes that Arcturus has an additional mutation in the spike protein, which many laboratory studies have shown to be the cause of increased infection rates as well as increased disease-causing ability.
Arcturus has an infection rate nearly 1.2 times higher than the XBB.1.5 variant, according to research from the University of Tokyo. However, this variant is not considered more serious than the XBB.1.5 type.
In addition to the rapid increase in new infections, epidemiologists have noticed new symptoms that have not been seen in previous outbreaks. In particular, a new sub-variant that causes Covid-19 infection in children.
Some of the symptoms that have been reported with this new variant include a fever that tends to increase gradually, lasting for 1-2 days, headache, body aches, abdominal discomfort, and sore throat. Many infected people also have conjunctivitis.
Since late January, this variant has been detected in more than 20 countries including Singapore, the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Up to now, Vietnam has not detected any cases of infection related to the XBB.1.6 variant.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, the number of Covid-19 cases in the last week of March reached 28,000, more than double the number of 14,467 cases a week earlier.
In Indonesia, Covid-19 cases have also increased in recent months as the government eased travel restrictions, with the number of infections reaching 987 on April 12.
On April 13, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged people to get booster shots, although he said the country's high immunity levels meant the current situation was "still well under control."
In addition, countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, etc. have also recorded many new Covid-19 cases. Before Asia, this Covid-19 wave swept through Europe but is now showing signs of cooling down.
Minh Hoa (according to VietNamNet , Giao Thong)
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