WHO reports decline in COVID-19 cases, deaths

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday reported a global decline in new COVID-19 cases and deaths. 

The WHO said there had been an estimated 3.3 million new infections and roughly 55,000 deaths in the past week, which represents a drop of 10 percent in both cases. The largest drop-offs were in the Middle East, the Western Pacific and the Americas. 

The number of cases in the U.S. fell by nearly 31 percent, although the U.S. case count was the highest worldwide at more than 765,000. There have been more than 43 million COVID-19 cases recorded in the U.S. to date. 

Brazil followed the U.S. in reported highs with more than 247,000 new cases. 

The WHO added that all regions reported declines except for Europe and Africa, which recorded 15 percent and 5 percent increases, respectively. Meanwhile, COVID-19-related deaths in Asia fell by nearly 25 percent. 

The total number of confirmed global cases of COVID-19 has exceeded 231 million, according to WHO data, with deaths rising above 4.7 million.

Separate vaccine data shows that nearly 50 percent of the global population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine with around 6.2 billion doses administered — averaging slightly more than 26 million shots per day.

Yet there continues to be a disparity between wealthy nations and low- and middle-income countries. Around 2.3 percent of residents in low- and middle-income countries have received at least one dose.