Outbreak Brief 144: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

Outbreak Update:
As of 19 October 2022, a total of 623,470,447 COVID-19 cases and 6,551,678 deaths (case fatality ratio [CFR]: 1.1%) have been reported globally by 232 countries and territories to the World Health Organization (WHO). The distribution of cumulative cases (percentage of global cases) from the WHO regions (excluding Africa) are as follows: Eastern Mediterranean Region 19,582,877 (3%), European Region 258,027,986 (42%), Region of the Americas 179,037,870 (29%), South-East Asia Region 60,375,797 (10%) and Western Pacific Region 91,720,915 (15%). In the last seven days, the five countries reporting the highest number of new cases are Germany (655,679), France (388,339), China (334,963), Italy (288,257) and the United States of America (218,276). As of 16 October 2022, over 4.9 billion people (62% of the global population) have been fully vaccinated. 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) 19 October 2022, a total of 12,086,731 COVID-19 cases and 255,912 deaths (CFR: 2.1%) have been reported by the 55 African Union (AU) Member States (MS). This represents 2% of all cases and 4% of all deaths reported globally. Forty (73%) AU MS are reporting CFRs higher than the global CFR. Since the detection of COVID-19 on the African continent (in February 2020), 53 (96%) AU MS have experienced three distinct COVID-19 waves, 48
(87%) MS have experienced four waves, 28 MS have experienced five waves, and five MS (Algeria, Burundi, Kenya, Mauritius and Tunisia) have experienced a sixth wave.