Covid-19 numbers in SE Asia plateaued over past month mainly due to cases in India remaining stable: WHO

The Covid19 numbers in the SouthEast Asia region peaked in early May and has since largely plateaued over the past month mainly due to cases in India remaining stable and consistent decreases in Indonesia and Myanmar over the past month the WHO has saidThe Covid19 Weekly Epidemiological Update released by the World Health Organization on August 10 said that the SouthEast Asia Region reported over 799000 new cases a five per cent decrease as compared to the previous week however several countries in the Region continue to report increasing trends including Sri Lanka and Thailand 26 per cent and 20 per cent increases respectivelyCase incidences in the region peaked in early May and have since largely plateaued over the past month This is largely due to cases in India remaining stable and consistent decreases in Indonesia and Myanmar over the past month the update saidIt added that following a steep increase in the mortality rate in the region this is the first time in seven weeks that a decline in the number of new weekly deaths has been reported a trend largely driven by declines in the Maldives and Myanmar this weekLarge increases in weekly deaths were reported in several countries including Sri Lanka 47 per cent increase Nepal 35 per cent and Thailand 30 per centThe highest number of new cases were reported from India 278631 new cases 202 new cases per 100000 2 per cent decrease Indonesia 225635 new cases 825 new cases per 100000 18 per cent decrease and Thailand 141191 new cases 2023 new cases per 100 000 20 per cent increaseIn the region the highest numbers of new deaths were reported from Indonesia 11373 new deaths 42 new deaths per 100000 9 per cent decrease India 3511 new deaths 03 new deaths per 100000 8 per cent decrease and Myanmar 2045 new deaths 38 new deaths per 100000 22 per cent decreaseGlobally cases of the Alpha variant have been reported in 185 countries territories or areas while 142 countries reported cases of the Delta variant 136 countries reported cases of the Beta variant and 81 countries reported cases of the Gamma variantThe update said that on August 5 the cumulative number of Covid19 cases globally surpassed 200 million just six months after reaching 100 million casesThis week alone over 42 million new cases and over 65000 new deaths were reported a slight increase as compared to the previous weekThe largest proportionate increases in new cases were reported by the Region of the Americas 14 per cent and Western Pacific Region 19 per cent with 13 million and over 375 000 new cases reported respectivelyOf the 228 member states and territories 38 17 per cent reported more than a 50 per cent increase in new cases as compared to the previous week and 34 15 per cent reported a more than a 50 per cent increase in new deathsAt the country level the highest numbers of new cases were reported from the United States at 734354 new cases a 35 per cent increase India with 278631 new cases a two per cent decrease Iran 248102 new cases 20 per cent increase Brazil 228473 new cases 8 per cent decrease and Indonesia 225635 new cases 18 per cent decreaseThe update said that eight recent studies have assessed the impact of the Delta variant on Covid19 vaccine performanceIt cited a study from India that has not yet been peerreviewed and which assessed the effectiveness of the AstraZenecaVaxzevria vaccine at preventing SARSCoV2 infection and severe Covid19 disease in a setting with a high prevalence of the Delta variantThe study from India found that two doses of the AstraZenecaVaxzevria vaccine were 631 per cent and 815 per cent effective at preventing infection and moderatesevere disease respectivelySingledose VE against infection 462 per cent was lower than two doses VE while singledose VE against moderatesevere disease 792 per cent was similar to that of 2 dosesAlso read US schools reopen but Covid19 continues to rise in childrenIt said while this study was conducted during a time of high transmission of the Delta variant it is noteworthy that viral sequencing and lineage determination were available from only a small subset of positive cases 4437 of these samples 9037 were the Delta variantA report on the first local transmission of the Delta SARSCoV2 variant in China described viral infection and transmission dynamics of 167 cases that were traced back to the index caseDaily sequential PCR testing of the quarantined subjects indicated that among those who became infected the viral load of the first positive test of Delta infections was approximately 1000 times higher than that of the original nonVariant Of Concern strain suggesting the potential for faster viral replication and increased infectiousness of the Delta variant during early stages of infectionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to 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