The World Health Organization said new COVID-19 cases in its 53-country European region, which stretches as far east as former Soviet republics in Central Asia, recorded an 18% increase in COVID-19 cases over the last week — a fourth straight weekly increase for the area. In WHO's weekly epidemiological report on COVID-19, Europe also saw a 14% increase in virus-related deaths. Russia, which has chalked up a series of national daily records for COVID-19 infections and deaths in recent days, had nearly a quarter million new cases over the last week. Overall, WHO's vast Americas region — which has tallied the most deaths of any region from the pandemic, at more than 2.7 million — saw a 1% uptick in deaths over the last week, even as cases fell by 9%. Cases in WHO's southeast Asia region, which includes populous countries like India and Indonesia, fell 8% even as deaths rose 13% over the last week.

Source: ABC News October 28, 2021 04:59 UTC