Situation Report of COVID-19 in the ASEAN Region - 28 October 2022

Global Update • Worldwide, there have been over 634 million cases and over 6 million deaths attributed to COVID-19. • World Health Organization: Latest weekly update, COVID-19 cases last week continued to decline, with cases down in some regions and stabilizing in others, including the Western Pacific, where infection levels have been on the rise. Cases dropped 15% last week compared to the previous week, and deaths decreased by 13% over the same period. For fatalities, WHO reported declines for four regions, stabilization in the Americas, and an increase in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Of more than 2.6 million cases reported to the WHO last week, the five countries reporting the most—though all with declining cases—include Germany, France, China, the United States, and Italy. Omicron BA.5 lineages make up 77.1% of cases, followed by BA.4 lineages, and then B.2 lineages, which have risen in prevalence. It said genetic diversification of SARS-CoV-2 continues, with 390 Omicron sublineages reported so far, along with 48 recombinants. As of October 25, 35 countries have reported the XBB and XBB.1 variants, and 65 have reported BQ.1—a BA.5 subvariant—and its descendant lineages. [