Baku, June 2, AZERTAC

Globally, nearly 2 million new cases and over 12 000 deaths were reported in the last 28 days (1 to 28 May 2023), a decrease of 30% and 39%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

During this 28-day reporting period, 150 of 243 (62%) countries and territories reported at least one case. The situation is mixed at the regional level, with increases in reported cases seen in the Western Pacific Region and the African Region, and decreases in deaths in all six WHO regions. As of 28 May 2023, over 767 million confirmed cases and over 6.9 million deaths have been reported globally.

Reported COVID-19 cases are underestimates of infection rates, largely due to the reductions in testing globally, and potential delays in reporting. Data presented in this report are therefore incomplete and should be interpreted in light of changes in testing and surveillance. Additionally, data from previous weeks are continuously being updated to incorporate retrospective changes in reported COVID-19 cases and deaths made by countries.

At the regional level, the number of newly reported 28-day cases decreased across four of the six WHO regions: the South-East Asia Region (-66%), the Eastern Mediterranean Region (-52%), the European Region (-48%), and the Region of the Americas (-44%); while case numbers increased or remained stable in two WHO regions, the Western Pacific Region (+10%) and the African Region (+3%). The number of newly reported 28-day deaths decreased or remained stable across six regions: the Eastern Mediterranean Region (-74%), the European Region (-50%), the Region of the Americas (-33%), the Western Pacific Region (-15%), the African Region (-11%), and the South-East Asia Region (-4%).

At the country level, the highest numbers of new 28-day cases were reported from the Republic of Korea (476 087 new cases; +44%), the United States of America (170 425 new cases; -57%), Australia (138 721 new cases; +22%), Brazil (129 610 new cases; -32%), and France (106 803 new cases; -46%). The highest numbers of new 28-day deaths were reported from the United States of America (3089 new deaths; -41%), Brazil (1170 new deaths; -7%), France (685 new deaths; -22%), the Russian Federation (614 new deaths; -38%), and Italy (606 new deaths; -4%).