WHO warns of ‘tsunami of Covid-19 cases' as world sees record surge

UN Agency Says Twin Threat Of Delta & Omicron May Push Health Systems To ‘Brink Of Collapse’; Highest Pandemic Tally Of 6.5M Global Infections Reported In A Week

Global Covid-19 infections hit a record high over the past seven-day period, Reuters data showed on Wednesday, as the new Omicron variant raced out of control, keeping workers at home and overwhelming testing centres. Almost 9,00,000 cases were detected on average each day around the world between December 22-28, with myriad countries posting new all-time highs over the past 24 hours, including the US, Australia and many European nations. According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, the world topped one million cases for a second straight day. A total of 6.55 million cases were detected between 22-28 December, the highest figures since the WHO declared a pandemic in March 2020. Infections were up 37% globally from December 22-28 compared to the previous seven-day period, according to an AFP tally based on national database.