The World Health Organization might have declared last May 2023 that Covid is not considered a global health emergency, but that doesn’t mean that the virus will mutate and circulate. The agency shared in their weekly update that there are 1.5 million new cases between July 10 to August 6. This is an 80 percent increase versus the past 28 days. The number of death reports is at 2,500, which is 57 percent less. 

These reported numbers are just an estimate of how many have been infected recently. This is because not everyone would conduct Covid testing as compared to the outbreak year ago. 

These new cases have also been reported to come from the Western Pacific region (including the Philippines), with infection reports going up to 137 percent. This uptick may be due to summer trips, declining immunity, and lax on routine hygiene. 

Last Aug. 9, Wednesday, WHO considered Omicron subvariant EG.5, unofficially nicknamed “Eris” online, a “variant of interest.” According to AFP, “it seems to be more transmissible than other circulating variants, likely due to a mutation in its spike protein, and the WHO said it has shown an ability to evade immunity. But there is no sign that EG.5 causes more severe Covid symptoms and it poses a ‘low’ risk to global public health, the WHO said, comparing its threat to other recent Omicron subvariants.”

With reports from World Health Organization and Agence France-Presse.