'Sharp' increase in COVID deaths: World Health Organization

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) said that a "sharp" jump was reported in the number of the global COVID-19 deaths in the week betweek July 19-25.

In a statement on Wednesday, the world body said that with over 69,000 fatalities, the number of COVID-19 deaths reported during the period increased by 21 per cent week-on-week, Xinhua news agency reported.

Most of the new deaths were reported from the Americas and South-East Asia Regions, said the WHO.

Meanwhile, the global number of new COVID-19 cases was also increase, with 3.8 million new infections confirmed in the above mentioned week.

The number new cases rose by 8 per cent compared with the previous week, which was largely attributed to substantial increases in the Americas and the Western Pacific Regions, the WHO added.

As of Thursday, the overall global COVID-19 caseload has increased to 195,865,047, while the deaths have surged to 4,185,754 and vaccinations soared to 3,960,681,747, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 34,668,545 and 611,779, respectively. (IANS)

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