Outbreak Brief 155: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

Outbreak Update: As of 2 January 2023, a total of 655,397,205 COVID-19 cases and 6,669,865 deaths (case fatality ratio [CFR]: 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 19,668,572 (3%), European Region 268,999,461 (41%), Region of the Americas 185,198,746 (28%), South-East Asia Region 60,724,442 (10%) and Western Pacific Region 104,340,401 (16%). In the last seven days, the five countries reporting the highest number of new cases are the United States of America (396,130), Japan (216,219), Brazil (206,944), Germany (168,069) and the Republic of Korea (158,944). As of 28 December 2022, over 5 billion people (63% 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) 2 January 2023, a total of 12,216,762 COVID-19 cases and 256,546 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-three (78%) 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, 6 MS have experienced a sixth wave and one MS (Kenya) has experienced a seventh wave.