World passes 300m Covid-19 cases; deaths drop despite 34 countries see record cases

A girl gives a thumb up as she receives her first Covid shot at a hospital in Panama City yesterday. Photo: AFP
The total number of Covid-19 cases registered worldwide passed 300 million on Friday, with the Omicron variant's rapid spread setting new infection records in dozens of countries over the last week.

In the past seven days, 34 countries have recorded their highest number of weekly cases since the start of the pandemic, including 18 nations in Europe and seven in Africa, according to an AFP count based on official figures.

While far more contagious than previous coronavirus variants, Omicron appears to cause less severe illness than its predecessors.

An average of 2,106,118 new daily infections were reported over the seven-day period, shortly after the one million case threshold was passed in the week of December 23-29, 2021, AFP data showed.

New global case numbers have soared by 270 percent since the highly contagious Omicron variant was discovered in South Africa in late November.

But Covid-related deaths were at their lowest level since October 2020, with an average of 6,237 per day recorded in the period between January 1 and 7, a decline of three percent.

France's public health authority said Friday that the risk of hospitalisation was about 70 percent lower for Omicron, citing data from the US, the UK, Canada and Israel.

However with a global average of two million new cases being detected daily, experts warn the sheer numbers threaten to overwhelm health systems.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Omicron should not be categorised as mild, as it "is hospitalising people and it is killing people".

"In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick, that it is overwhelming health systems around the world."

Omicron's dizzying spread since being detected six weeks ago has prompted many nations to push harder for more vaccinations and some to clamp down with restrictions.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday that access to the country's bars and restaurants will be limited to those who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from the virus and can also provide a negative test result.

However, people who have received a booster shot will be exempted from the test requirement.

In India, Omicron-led rising case numbers have brought fears of a return to the country's darkest pandemic days last year, when thousands were dying of Covid every day.

Coronavirus cases fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant are rocketing through India, prompting the federal government and states to swiftly reintroduce a string of restrictions.

Night curfews are back in major cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore. Some states have closed schools and cinemas and large gatherings are to be downsized.

Gautam Menon, a professor at India's Ashoka University who has worked on Covid infection modelling, told AFP that "this could potentially stress out health care systems to levels comparable to or worse than the second wave".

However Calcutta's High Court rejected a bid to cancel a major Hindu festival, despite fears the virus could spread rapidly among the 500,000 expected attendees.

India yesterday reported 141,986 new Covid-19 cases, the most since the end of May. The health ministry also reported 285 new deaths, taking the total to 483,463. Total infections stand at 35.37 million.