Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 30 March 2023

Globally, nearly 3.6 million new cases and over 25 000 deaths were reported in the last 28 days (27 February to 26 March 2023), a decrease of 27% and 39%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days. Despite this overall downward trend, it is important to note that several countries have recently reported significant increases in cases. As of 26 March 2023, over 761 million confirmed cases and over 6.8 million deaths have been reported globally.

In this edition, we include:

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