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- According to the World Health Organisation, there was a 42% increase in Covid-19 hospitalisations in December compared to November.
- WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said holiday gatherings led to an increase in deaths and hospitalisations.
- He reiterated his call for people to be vaccinated and ensure crowded indoor spaces are ventilated.
Almost 10 000 Covid-19 deaths were reported in December, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday, as it warned the virus remained a major threat despite partially passing under the radar.
The UN health agency said data from various sources pointed to increased transmission in December, fuelled by gatherings over the Christmas holiday period and by the JN.1 variant, which is now the most commonly-reported around the globe.
"Although Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the virus is still circulating, changing, and killing," WHO's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Besides the near 10 000 deaths reported to the WHO in December, there was a 42% increase in hospitalisations and a 62% increase in intensive care unit admissions, compared with November.
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However, the figures are based on data from less than 50 countries - mostly in Europe and the Americas, Tedros said.
"It is certain that there are also increases in other countries that are not being reported.
"Just as governments and individuals take precautions against other diseases, we must all continue to take precautions against Covid-19."
Tedros said:
He urged governments to maintain virus surveillance and sequencing, and to ensure access to affordable and reliable tests, treatments and vaccines.
"And we continue to call on individuals to be vaccinated, to test, to wear masks where needed and to ensure crowded indoor spaces are well ventilated," he said.
Tedros declared an end to Covid-19 as an international public health emergency in May 2023, more than three years on from when the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
