Global COVID-19 cases continue to rise for fourth consecutive week: WHO

GENEVA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said in its latest weekly epidemiological report that confirmed COVID-19 cases have continued to increase globally for a fourth consecutive week.

In the week ending March 21, nearly 3.3 million new cases were reported globally, according to the report. Four regions saw a "marked" increase in new cases, namely South-East Asia, Western Pacific, Europe and Eastern Mediterranean regions, up by 49 percent, 29 percent, 13 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Europe and the Americas still accounted for close to 80 percent of all cases and deaths, it said.

The increase reported on Wednesday by the WHO followed a trend that saw, in early March, the end of a decrease in the number of infections worldwide, a shift that was commented by the WHO Director-General as "disappointing but not surprising."

Furthermore, while the number of new COVID-19 deaths was falling in the last few weeks, it plateaued last week, indicating a possible rise in the number of deaths globally, the WHO said.

Only the Western Pacific region saw a decrease in new reported deaths during the week, according to the report.