Coronavirus cases and deaths are starting to slow in most regions, WHO data shows

The World Health Organisation said Covid-19 cases had fallen 5 per cent in the last week, and deaths had dropped by 12 per cent

The Americas are the hardest-hit by the pandemic, and reported the biggest slowdown, while India and the Eastern Mediterranean saw cases rise

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Health workers take swab samples from motorists for Covid-19 tests, at the drive-in testing facility at the San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital in Rome, Italy. The WHO says cases are declining. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:12pm, 25 Aug 2020Updated: 9:15pm, 25 Aug 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is still raging worldwide, but fresh World Health Organisation (WHO) data indicates its pace is easing in most regions, with the biggest slowdown seen in the hard-hit Americas.

More than 1.7 million new coronavirus cases and some 39,000 new deaths were recorded last week, the WHO said in a situation report published late on Monday.

The numbers for the seven-day period ending on August 23 mark a 5 per cent decrease in new Covid-19 cases globally and a 12 per cent drop in new deaths compared to a week earlier.

Despite the slowdown, the fresh numbers pushed the global total since the start of the pandemic to well over 23 million cases and more than 800,000 deaths.

With the exception of Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, all regions registered declines in new numbers, the UN health agency said.

The Americas remain by far the hardest-hit in the pandemic, accounting last week for half of all newly reported cases and 62 per cent of deaths.

But the region also saw the biggest slowdown, with the number of new cases decreasing 11 per cent and new deaths falling 17 per cent from a week earlier.

This was driven in part by reduced transmission reported from the United States and Brazil – the world’s two worst-affected countries, the data showed.