Covid-19 fatalities rise 15% as WHO warns of high transmission of new variant

The World Health Organisation has expressed concerns over the worldwide Covid-19 situation, warning that recorded deaths rose 15 per cent in a month and that a new variant is the most transmissible yet.

“We are really concerned about the current Covid-19 epidemiological picture,” said WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warning of “intense transmission in several parts of the world” and variants that are “spreading quickly”.

He said there was pressure on health systems and increased hospitalisations, particularly in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, where the seasonal flu virus is also at large.

About 10,000 people are recorded as dying of Covid-19 each week, he said, adding “the true toll is likely much higher”.

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The global health body stressed the importance of continuing to use testing and sequencing of the virus to track the emergence of new variants, as the virus continues to evolve rapidly.

Evasion of immunity

Currently in focus is the rapid spread of XBB.1.5, a descendant of the Omicron variant that went from being present in 4 per cent of sequenced samples in the United States, to 40 per cent just weeks later.

WHO epidemiologist Dr Maria van Kerkhove said it was the “most transmissible subvariant detected yet” and that it had the ability to evade immunity that people had gained against older variants.

She warned that the world’s recorded Covid-19 deaths had risen 15 per cent in the last month. “We know that is an underestimate.”

The health body stressed that a high level of vaccination, resilient health systems and monitoring of how the virus was evolving were the most important ways in which national authorities should respond to the pandemic.

China has not been accurately reporting the level of its hospitalisations and deaths, WHO emergencies chief Dr Mike Ryan said.

“We believe the current numbers being published from China underrepresent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, ICU admissions and particularly in terms of deaths,” he said.

He said it was important to “not discourage doctors or nurses reporting on these deaths… to be able to record the actual impact of the disease in society, so that we can take the best action on behalf of our citizens”.

Chinese information

The WHO has repeatedly urged China to share more data, as Covid-19 surges through its huge population.

A series of countries worldwide, ranging from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to India, South Korea and Qatar, have imposed requirements for negative tests on incoming airline passengers from China.

Other measures introduced include the testing of water waste on airplanes, and random testing of arriving passengers, with genetic sequencing of any Covid-19 virus that is found.

The primary concern among national authorities is that because China has not been sharing timely data about its levels of hospitalisations and deaths, they would have little chance to prepare if a dangerous new variant were to emerge.

China has declared less than one death a day over the past month, at odds with reports of overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, and evoking unwelcome memories of the lack of transparency in the initial weeks of late 2019 and early 2020 when the virus first emerged.