Nearly 10,000 deaths from Covid-19 reported in December – WHO warns virus lives on even if it goes partially unnoticed

Nearly 10,000 deaths from Covid-19 were reported in December, the World Health Organization announced, warning that the virus remains alive even if it goes partially unnoticed. According to the WHO, data from various sources indicated an increase in transmission last month, driven by gatherings during the Christmas holidays and by the JN.1 variant, which is now the most frequently reported worldwide.

“Although Covid-19 no longer constitutes a global health emergency, the virus continues to circulate, mutate and kill,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the United Nations health agency, said during a conference in Geneva.

In addition to the nearly 10,000 deaths reported to the WHO last month, hospitalizations increased by 42% and intensive care unit admissions by 62% compared to November. However, the figures are based on data from fewer than 50 countries, mainly in Europe and the Americas, Tedros said.

“There are definitely increases in other countries that are not being reported,” he noted. “Just as governments and individuals take precautions against other diseases, we all must continue to take precautions against Covid-19,” the senior official asserted. “Although 10,000 deaths per month are below the peak of the epidemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable,” he added.

He urged governments to monitor and sequence the virus and ensure access to affordable and reliable tests, treatments and vaccines. “We also continue to call on people to get vaccinated, get tested, wear masks where necessary and ensure that crowded indoor spaces are well ventilated,” he said.

Mr Tedros declared the end of Covid-19 as an international public health emergency in May 2023, more than three years after the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.