Update on the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Global Epidemic, Brief #88

Outbreak Update: Since the last brief (14 September 2021), 3,862,133 new confirmed^[1] coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, including 62,740 new deaths, have been reported globally. To date, a global total of 228,401,433 COVID-19 cases and 4,690,961 related deaths (case fatality ratio (CFR): 2.1%) have been reported from 225 countries and territories to the World Health Organization (WHO). The distribution of cumulative cases (proportion of global cases) from the WHO reporting regions (excluding Africa) are as follows: Eastern Mediterranean Region 13,164,909 (6%), European Region 68,419,751 (30%), Region of the Americas 88,054,178 (39%), South-East Asia Region 42,547,959 (19%) and Western Pacific Region 7,975,252 (3%). In the last seven days, the five countries reporting the highest number of new cases globally are the United States (950,031), Brazil (241,161), India (214,244), the United Kingdom (203,470), and Turkey (189,008).  For more detailed information on cases and deaths reported outside of Africa, refer to the WHO COVID-19 dashboard.

As of 9 a.m. East African Time (EAT) 21 September 2021, a total of 8,166,634 COVID-19 cases and 206,740 deaths (CFR: 2.5%) have been reported in 55 African Union (AU) Member States. This represents 3.6% of all cases and 4.4% of all deaths reported globally. Twenty-two (40%) AU Member States are reporting CFRs higher than the global CFR.  Since the beginning of the pandemic, 54 (98%) AU Member States have experienced at least a second wave, 43 (78%) have experienced a third wave and seven countries (Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Somalia and Tunisia) have experienced a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases. Figure 1 shows the trend of new COVID-19 cases reported per day by AU region from 15 February 2020 to 21 September 2021. The overall daily number of new cases being reported across the continent has continued to decline. More information on COVID-19 situation in Africa is available on the Africa CDC daily dashboard and hotspot dashboard.