Global COVID-related mortality down almost by 90% since February

The number of deaths caused by the coronavirus infection has decreased worldwide almost by 90% since February but the international community should remain on alert given the current overall low level of testing for the presence of the virus and the alarming spread of its new strains, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.

"Just over 9,400 COVID-19 deaths were reported to WHO last week - almost 90% less than in February of this year, when weekly deaths topped 75,000," he said. "We have come a long way, and this is definitely cause for optimism, but we continue to call on all governments, communities and individuals to remain vigilant," the official noted. According to him, almost 10,000 weekly fatalities "is too many for a disease that can be prevented and treated."

Ghebreyesus stated that "testing and sequencing rates remain low globally, vaccination gaps remain wide, and the continued proliferation of new variants remains concerning." In this situation, "WHO continues to urge caution," encouraging everyone to be fully vaccinated.

As of November 8, the World Health Organization has received reports of 629,978,289 coronavirus infections and 6,582,023 fatalities since the onset of the pandemic.