Figures showing a global rise in COVID-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem as some countries also report a drop in testing rates, the WHO said on Tuesday, warning nations to remain vigilant against the virus.
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After more than a month of decline, COVID cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China's Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak.
A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its BA.2 sublineage, and the lifting of public health and social measures, the WHO said.
"These increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg," WHO's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
Low vaccination rates in some countries, driven partly by a "huge amount of misinformation" also explained the rise, WHO officials said.
New infections jumped by 8% globally compared to the previous week, with 11 million new cases and just over 43,000 new deaths reported from March 7-13. It is the first rise since the end of January.
The biggest jump was in the WHO's Western Pacific region, which includes South Korea and China, where cases rose by 25% and deaths by 27%.
Africa also saw a 12% rise in new cases and a 14% rise in deaths, and Europe a 2% rise in cases but no jump in deaths. Other regions reported declining cases, including the eastern Mediterranean region, although this area saw a 38% rise in deaths linked to a previous spike in infections.
A number of experts have raised concerns that Europe faces another coronavirus wave, with cases rising since the beginning of March in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove said at the briefing that BA.2 appears to be the most transmissible variant so far.
However, there are no signs that it causes more severe disease and no evidence that any other new variants are driving the rise in cases.
The picture in Europe is also not universal. Denmark, for example, saw a brief peak in cases in the first half of February, driven by BA.2, which quickly subsided.
But experts have begun to warn that the United States could soon see a similar wave to that seen in Europe, potentially driven by BA.2, the lifting of restrictions and potential waning immunity from vaccines given several months ago.
"I agree with the easing of restrictions, because you can't think of it as an emergency after two years," said Antonella Viola, professor of immunology at Italy's University of Padua.
"We just have to avoid thinking that COVID is no longer there. And therefore maintain the strictly necessary measures, which are essentially the continuous monitoring and tracking of cases, and the maintenance of the obligation to wear a mask in closed or very crowded places."
Israel too recorded an increase in the coronavirus reproduction rate in recent days and has even identified a new strain, a combination of Omicron and BA.2.
On Thursday morning, the Health Ministry reported that of the 56,488 Israelis it screened in the past 24 hours, 6,738 (11.93%) tested positive. There are 40,096 active cases in the country with 765 patients hospitalized. Of those, 332 are in serious conditon.
Currently, 16,079 Israelis are in quarantine. Thus far, 737,472 Israelis have been vaccinated with four shots, 4,469,789 with three, 6,125,157 with two, and 6,700,969 have received one jab.
Israel has reported 3,741,029 cases, including 10,405 deaths, since the oubreak of the pandemic in March 2020.
In related news, a small study conducted by the Sheba Medical Center this week showed that a fourth vaccination dose reduces morbidity and increases antibodies but is only partially effective against Omicron.
Researchers, led by Professor Gili Regev-Yochay, enrolled 274 healthcare workers in a clinical trial to test the efficacy of a fourth COVID shot. Some received a vaccine shot made by Pfizer, others by Moderna.
The study found that the fourth dose restores antibodies to levels observed after the third jab but provides only a modest boost in protection against infection.
"The third dose is important for all those who have not fallen ill with COVID," Regev-Yochay said. "But the fourth jab, it seems, is important for at-risk individuals."
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