Globally, WHO has reported as on [July 28], 16,301,736 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 650,069 deaths.
The Americas remains the epicentre by region, with more than 8.7 million cases, followed by Europe (3.2 million), South-East Asia (1.8 million), Eastern Mediterranean (1.5 million), Africa (712,920) and Western Pacific (291,993).
During a scheduled virtual press conference, [WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret] Harris noted that the biggest outbreak “with the most intense, the highest numbers”, remained the US, where it is the middle of summer, [suggesting that the virus is not seasonal.]
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Turning to countries in the global south, Dr Harris noted that winter was underway there, with samples tested, indicating “high” COVID infection rates but low influenza traces. “Now the interesting thing is we are seeing from those samples, high levels of COVID, but we’re not seeing high levels of influenza at the moment. So, we’re expecting a later flu season in the southern hemisphere.”
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Dr Harris also pushed back on the perception that a respiratory illness might come and go in several waves.
“It’s going to be one big wave”, she said. “It’s going to go up and down a bit…the best thing is to flatten it and turn it into just something that is lapping at your feet. But at the moment, first, second, third wave, these things don’t really make sense and we’re not really defining it that way.”
