Update on the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Global Epidemic, Brief #98

Outbreak Update: Since the last brief (23 November 2021), 3,876,613 new confirmed^[1] coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, including 48,347 new deaths, have been reported globally. To date, a global total of 260,789,592 COVID-19 cases and 5,200,361 related deaths (case fatality ratio (CFR): 2%) have been reported by 226 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 14,289,423 (5%), European Region 86,446,525 (33%), Region of the Americas 96,650,725 (37%), South-East Asia Region 44,543,649 (17%) and Western Pacific Region 10,196,936 (4%). In the last seven days, the five countries reporting the highest number of new cases globally are the United States (432,469), Germany (405,475), the United Kingdom (301,423), the Russian Federation (237,394) and France (202,295).  For more detailed information on cases and deaths reported outside of Africa, refer to the WHO COVID-19 dashboard.

As of 6 p.m. East African Time (EAT) 29 November 2021, a total of 8,638,595 COVID-19 cases and 222,827 deaths (CFR: 2.6%) have been reported in 55 African Union (AU) Member States (MS). This represents 3.3% of all cases and 4.4% of all deaths reported globally. Twenty-seven (49%) AU MS are reporting CFRs higher than the global CFR. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 46 (84%) AU MS have experienced a third wave, eleven (20%) countries (Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Somalia and Tunisia) have experienced a fourth wave and one country (Mauritius) is experiencing a fifth wave of COVID-19 cases. Figure 1 shows the trend of new COVID-19 cases reported per day by the AU region from 15 February 2020 to 29 November 2021. The overall daily number of new cases being reported across the continent is on an upward trend. More information on COVID-19 situation in Africa is available on the Africa CDC daily dashboard and hotspot dashboard.