Nearly 10,000 deaths caused by COVID-19 were reported in December, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday, warning that the virus remains alive even if it can go partly unnoticed.
According to the WHO, data from various sources indicated an increase in transmission last month, fueled by gatherings during the Christmas holidays and by the JN.1 variant, which is now the most frequently reported worldwide.
“Although COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the virus continues to circulate, change and kill,” the head of the United Nations health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said during a conference in Geneva.
In addition to the nearly 10,000 deaths reported to the WHO last month, there was a 42% increase in hospitalizations and a 62% increase in intensive care unit admissions, compared to November.
However, the figures are based on data from fewer than 50 countries, mainly in Europe and the Americas, Tedros said.
“Certainly there are increases in other countries that are not being reported,” he noted.
“Just as governments and individuals take precautions against other diseases, we must all continue to take precautions against COVID-19,” stressed this senior official.
“Although 10,000 deaths per month is well below the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable,” he added.
He urged governments to maintain surveillance and sequencing of the virus, and ensure access to affordable and reliable tests, treatments and vaccines.
“We also continue to call on individuals to get vaccinated, test themselves, wear masks if necessary, and ensure crowded indoor spaces are well ventilated,” he said.
Mr. Tedros had declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as an international public health emergency in May 2023, more than three years after the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.