This archive report was first published on 25 August 2020.
As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a slowdown in cases and deaths globally, except for Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean regions.
According to the WHO's latest epidemiological update, issued on Monday night, the Americas remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for half of newly reported cases and 62% of the 39,240 deaths worldwide in the past week.
As of Tuesday, more than 23.65 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally, and 811,895 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
WHO reported a 4% decrease in the number of cases and a 12% decrease in the number of deaths compared to the previous week, citing data from the week ending August 23.
However, Southeast Asia, the second most affected region, reported a significant jump in cases, accounting for 28% of new cases and 15% of deaths, the WHO said.
India continues to report the majority of cases, but the virus is also spreading rapidly in Nepal.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the number of reported cases rose by 4%, but the number of reported deaths has consistently dropped over the last six weeks, the WHO said.
Lebanon, Tunisia, and Jordan reported the highest increase in cases compared to the previous week.
On the other hand, the number of cases and deaths reported across Africa decreased by 8% and 11% respectively in the past week, primarily due to a decrease in cases reported in Algeria, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, and South Africa.
However, the European region has seen an increase in cases over the last three weeks, with only a slight decrease (1%) reported in the most recent week, and the number of deaths continuing to decrease across the region.
Finally, in the Western Pacific region, the number of new cases dropped by 5%, driven by less spread in Japan, Australia, Singapore, China, and Vietnam.
South Korea reported an 180% jump in cases, mainly due to an increase in cases associated with religious gatherings.
