Global overview
Data as of 1 January 2023
Globally, more than 3 million new cases and 10 000 deaths have been reported in the week of 26 December 2022 to 1 January 2023 (Figure 1, Table 1). This represents a reduction in weekly cases and deaths of 22% and 12%, respectively. However, those trends need to be interpreted considering the reduction in testing and delays in reporting in many countries during the year-end holiday season. Therefore, data presented in this report, especially for the most recent week, are incomplete and the decreasing trends should be interpreted in that context as they may change with updated information provided following the holiday period.
In the last 28 days (5 December 2022 to 1 January 2023), over 14.5 million cases and over 46 000 new fatalities were reported globally – an increase of 25% and 21%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days. As of 1 January 2023, over 656 million confirmed cases and over 6.6 million deaths have been reported globally.
At the country level, the highest numbers of new weekly cases were reported from Japan (946 130 new cases; -18%), the Republic of Korea (457 745 new cases; -3%), the United States of America (393 587 new cases; -21%), China (218 019 new cases; +45%), and Brazil (206 944 new cases; -19%). The highest numbers of new weekly deaths were reported from the United States of America (2501 new deaths; -14%), Japan (1941 new deaths; -3%), Brazil (1110 new deaths; +19%), France (803 new deaths; similar to the previous week), and China (648 new deaths; +48%).
Current trends in reported COVID-19 cases are underestimates of the true number of global infections and reinfections as shown by prevalence surveys.1–4 Therefore, the data should be interpreted with caution as several countries have progressively changed COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected. Additionally, data from previous weeks are continuously updated to retrospectively incorporate changes in reported COVID-19 cases and deaths made by countries.
Source: World Health Organization