translated from Spanish: WHO: coronavirus pandemic slows in Europe

The coronavirus pandemic has “slowed down” in the past week although the morale rate continues to rise, with more than 67,000 deaths reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday. In its latest epidemiological report, the United Nations health agency noted that although there is a “downward trend” in the number of contagions in Europe, the region still has the highest proportion of new cases and deaths globally. WHO further noted that Africa reported the largest increase in infections and deaths, driven by upticks in South Africa, Algeria and Kenya.According to WHO, in the last week the number of reported cases in Europe fell by around 6%, following the 10% drop recorded the previous week, suggesting that quarantines decreed across the continent are being effective in curbing the spread of the virus. However, the region still accounts for about half of the overall number of deaths. In Asia, WHO noted that Japan broke its daily record of contagion since the start of the pandemic, with more than 2,000 daily in five consecutive days, an increase of 41% over the past week. In Myanmar, cases rose by 74% in the last seven days, with more than 11,000 new infections, and deaths increased by 36% to 188.On Wednesday, the Russian authorities recorded a new record number of coronavirus deaths for the second day in a row. The government working group against the coronavirus reported 507 new deaths, the worst daily figure recorded in the country since the onset of the pandemic. The previous mark, 491 deceased, was recorded on the eve. In total, 37,538 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 in the country, according to the authorities. This fall, the second wave of the pandemic has hit Russia hard, breaking records of confirmed contagions and almost daily demise, significantly surpassing the figures reported in the first wave during the spring. The authorities have rejected the idea of decreeing another confinement at the national level or ordering widespread company closures, although local media reports in different regions of the country showed that the health system is under heavy pressure. On Wednesday, authorities confirmed 23,765 new contagions. Russia is the fifth country in the world for COVID-19 infected, with more than 2.1 million.

Original source in Spanish