Globally 490 million covid-19 cases reported, New variant XE raise new concerns

By Team Newsable | First Published Apr 4, 2022, 10:31 AM IST

According to the World Health Organization, the variant XE has more transmissibility than the Omicron variant.

The international Covid-19 cases on Sunday hit 490 million, while the countries across the globe are attempting to flatten the curve. As per John Hopkins University data, over 6.5 million deaths have been reported due to Covid-19 since the pandemic.

The University's Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) declared that the present global caseload stood at 491,352,180 cases on Monday morning. The total death recorded stands at 6,152,703. The US remains to register the highest cases of at 81,832,612, followed by India with a total of 43,028,863 cases.

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that the number of fresh Covid cases across the world between March 21 and March 27 has dropped by 14 per cent compared to the previous week. And another development, a new variant of the Covid-19 XE, has been detected. According to WHO, the variant has more transmissibility than the Omicron variant.

Also Read: 'No impact on efficacy, safety': Bharat Biotech on Covaxin supply suspension by WHO

China remains to record the highest surge in Covid-19 cases, with the country recording 13,000 cases on Sunday, the highest since the first wave peak in Wuhan. Shanghai is under lockdown, reporting the most number of cases. As per reports, the entire city of around 25 million people is restricted, with another round of mass testing planned.

The UK has witnessed a surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron BA.2 variant. The total cases reported are 21,379,545 cases as of now—hospitalisation and death rates are rising in Britain, the UK with 166,168 deaths as of now. The XE variant is the recombinant variant (BA.1-BA.2) initially detected in the UK in January, as per WHO.

Also Read: WHO explains new variant amid growing fear of XE strain

Germany records 41,129 fresh cases; the total stands at 21,668,677 cases. Around 23 new deaths. On Monday, the death toll rises to 130,052, as per the Robert Koch Institute. German reported being the highest European nation to witness the surge in Covid-19 cases in March.

In South Korea, certain restrictions were eased, enabling fully vaccinated travellers to enter without quarantine; the country saw a surge of 127,190 cases in a single day on Monday, bringing the total to 14,001,406. Two hundred eighteen more deaths have been reported, bringing the total number of people who have died due to the virus to 17,453. The increase in South Korea in recent weeks has also drawn international attention.

The number of Covid cases in France continues to rise. According to Reuters, the government reported a total of 132,114 new Covid cases on Sunday. An increase in Italy, in addition to France, has been causing concern across Europe.

Also Read: Line two metres apart: China officials warn residents over daily covid cases surge

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