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March 14, 2024
These coronavirus variants are keeping scientists awake at night

UK coronavirus variant has been reported in 86 countries, WHO says

A health worker takes a coronavirus antigen rapid test swab at the new coronavirus test center in the Orangery of the Schoenbrunn Palace on February 4 in Vienna, Austria.
A health worker takes a coronavirus antigen rapid test swab at the new coronavirus test center in the Orangery of the Schoenbrunn Palace on February 4 in Vienna, Austria. Alex Halada/AFP/Getty Images

For the fourth week in a row, the number of new cases of Covid-19 reported across the globe have declined, according to data from the World Health Organization.

In its weekly epidemiological update, WHO says more than 3.1 million new cases of Covid-19 were reported last week, which is a 17% decline from the previous week.

This is the lowest number of cases worldwide since the last week of October, about 15 weeks ago.

The United States accounted for the highest number of new Covid-19 cases, with 871,365. However, this figure is a 19% decline in cases from the previous week. Brazil, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom were also among the nations reporting the highest number of new cases worldwide, WHO noted. 

Out of all the regions, Africa saw the greatest decline in cases (22%), compared to WHO’s previous week update, while the Eastern Mediterranean saw the smallest (2%).

The number of new deaths reported globally went down for the second week in a row, with 88,000 new fatalities reported last week, a 10% drop compared to the previous week. 

Overall, new cases in the Americas accounted for more than half of all new cases worldwide, with more than 1.5 million new cases and over 45,000 new deaths.

Globally, there have been at least 105.4 million Covid-19 cases and 2.3 million deaths since the start of the pandemic.

CNN is tracking worldwide cases.