Globally, over the past week, the number of new cases and deaths reported continued to decrease, with over 4.1 million new cases and 84 000 new deaths reported. The European Region reported the largest decline in new cases and deaths this week, followed by the South-East Asia Region. The Region of the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, African, and Western Pacific Regions reported similar numbers of cases to the previous week.

In this edition, a special focus update is provided on SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Interest (VOIs) and Variants of Concern (VOCs) B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, and B.1.617. This includes updates on emerging evidence surrounding the phenotypic characteristics of VOCs (transmissibility, disease severity, risk of reinfection, and impacts on diagnostics and vaccine performance), as well as updates on the geographic distribution of VOCs.

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About WHO

The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.