WHO: Europe only region to see increase in coronavirus cases

The World Health Organization on Wednesday reported that the number of coronavirus deaths in Europe increased by 10 percent within the past week, making it the only region in the world where virus cases and deaths continue to surge.

According to The Associated Press, the U.N. health agency detailed in its weekly report that nearly two-thirds of the world’s new coronavirus cases were recorded in Europe, making a total of nearly 1.9 million. Those cases were reported to have risen by 7 percent from the previous week.

Russia, Britain, Turkey, Germany and the United States were reported to have the highest numbers of new coronavirus cases. While the number of weekly deaths decreased by 4 percent worldwide, every region except for Europe saw a decline, AP reported.

WHO’s European region includes 61 countries including Russia and stretches to Central Asia. The organization noted that 42 percent of those 61 countries recorded a 10 percent increase in coronavirus cases, the news outlet noted.

In the Americas, where the highest COVID-19 numbers are found in the United States, weekly cases reportedly declined by 5 percent and deaths saw a decrease of 14 percent.

Last week, WHO’s Europe director said that Europe has returned to being “the epicenter of the pandemic.” At the time he warned that if more precautions are not taken to stop the surge of the virus, the region could see 500,000 deaths by February.