Update on the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Global Epidemic, Brief #101

Outbreak Update: Since the last brief (14 December 2021), 4,501,031 new confirmed^[1] coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, including 47,740 new deaths, have been reported globally. To date, a global total of 273,869,899 COVID-19 cases and 5,352,069 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 14,513,439 (5%), European Region 94,637,598 (35%), Region of the Americas 99,775,067 (36%), South-East Asia Region 44,833,250 (16%) and Western Pacific Region 10,824,481 (4%). In the last seven days, the five countries reporting the highest number of new cases globally are the United States (827,506), the United Kingdom (541,872), France (362,800), Germany (278,016) and the Russian Federation (195,358).  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) 20 December 2021, a total of 9,197,647 COVID-19 cases and 226,090 deaths (CFR: 2.5%) have been reported in 55 African Union (AU) Member States (MS). This represents 3.4% of all cases and 4.2% 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, 21 (38%) countries (Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe) have experienced a fourth wave and three countries (Algeria, Kenya and Mauritius) are 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 20 December 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.