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The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a weekly report that the number of new COVID-19 cases around the world fell by nearly a quarter last week.
The agency said that nearly 5.59 million cases were reported between April 11 and April 17, which is 24% less than the previous week.
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Additionally, the number of newly reported deaths dropped by 21% to 18,215.
While new cases declined in every region, the Americas only saw a 2% decrease.
Visitors take photographs of giant panda at the Ocean Park, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Hong Kong Ocean Park reopened to the public after shutting down due to a surge in COVID-19 infections.
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The countries with the highest reported case numbers last week were South Korea, France and Germany.
The highest numbers of new deaths were reported by the U.S., Russia and South Korea.
According to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the U.S. reported 68,781 new cases and 877 new deaths in the past day.
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The WHO said that “these trends should be interpreted with caution as several countries are progressively changing their COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected.”
More than 502 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 6.2 million deaths related to the coronavirus have been reported so far, though total numbers are believed to be much higher.
Visitors wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus take a photograph under lanterns ahead of the upcoming birthday of Buddha on May 8, at the Jogye temple in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 21, 2022.
(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
While cases have fallen markedly since the winter’s omicron surge, experts have warned about the circulation of highly transmissible subvariants.
Still, restrictions have relaxed around the world, with Hong Kong reopening Disneyland and museums and Shanghai easing its stringent lockdown a bit.
South Korean officials recently announced the intention to remove most pandemic regulations, including indoor gathering limits.
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People there will be allowed to eat inside movie theaters, religious facilities, bus terminals and train stations starting on April 25.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
