COVID-19 epidemiological update – 22 December 2023

Overview

Globally, the number of new cases increased by 52% during the 28-day period of 20 November to 17 December 2023 as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 850 000 new cases reported. The number of new deaths decreased by 8% as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 3000 new fatalities reported. As of 17 December 2023, over 772 million confirmed cases and nearly seven million deaths have been reported globally. 

During the period from 13 November to 10 December 2023, over 118 000 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and over 1600 new intensive care unit (ICU) admissions have been recorded with an overall increase of 23% and 51% respectively amongst the countries reporting consistently within the current and past reporting periods. 

As of 18 December 2023, JN.1, a sub-lineage of BA.2.86 Omicron variant has been designated a separate variant of interest (VOI) apart from its parent lineage BA.2.86 due to its rapid increase in prevalence in recent weeks. Globally, EG.5 remains to be the most reported VOI. 

In this edition, we include: 

• The COVID-19 epidemiological update at the global and regional levels. 
• An update on hospitalizations and ICU admissions. 
• An update on the SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest (VOI) and variants under monitoring (VUM).