WHO says 10,000 died from COVID-19 in December

The World Health Organization, on Wednesday, said that nearly 10,000 COVID-19 related deaths were reported in December.

Hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries, largely in Europe and the Americas, the UN-backed health agency said. There was also a 62% increase in intensive care unit admissions, compared with November.

"Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

This comes when the new JN.1 variant has become the most reported coronavirus variant in the world.

Tedros added that he was "certain" that cases were on the rise in other countries too but were not being reported. He urged governments to keep up surveillance and continued access to treatment.

"We continue to call on individuals to be vaccinated, to test, to wear masks where needed and to ensure crowded indoor spaces are well ventilated," he said.

The WHO declared an end to COVID-19 as a pandemic in May 2023, over three years after the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China.

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