The World Health Organisation has recorded nearly 13 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections and almost 53,000 deaths globally from December 19, 2022, to January 15, 2023.

Recent reports revealed that there is 20 per cent increase in the cases recorded compared to the previous 28 days, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, there has been nearly 2.8 million new cases and over 13,000 deaths in recent times, and the data should be interpreted with caution as several countries have progressively changed COVID-19 testing strategies.

He added that data from previous weeks are continuously updated to include changes in reported COVID-19 cases and deaths made by countries.

His words, “Globally, nearly 2.8 million new cases and over 13,000 deaths were reported in the week of January 9 to 15 2023. In the last 28 days (December 19, 2022, to January 15, 2023), nearly 13 million cases and almost 53,000 new deaths were reported globally – a decrease of seven per cent and an increase of 20 per cent, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days.”

“As of January 15, 2023, over 662 million confirmed cases and over 6.7 million deaths have been reported globally.”

“Therefore, the data should be interpreted with caution as several countries have progressively changed COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected.

“Additionally, data from previous weeks are continuously updated to retrospectively incorporate changes in reported COVID-19 cases and deaths made by countries.”