The coronavirus disease COVID-19 continues to spread at the regional and global levels. As of 9 April 2022, the global cumulative incidence reached 495 719 771 reported cases and 6 174 399 associated deaths with a case-fatality ratio (CFR) of 1.2%. Meanwhile, the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) have reported a total of 21 635 719 cases, which represent about 4.4% of the global count, with 341 362 associated deaths (CFR 1.6%). Most countries in the Region are in the community transmission phase.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the country that has reported the highest number of total cases in the Region is Islamic Republic of Iran (7 186 992 cases; 33.2% of the Region’s total), followed by Iraq (2 321 630; 10.7%) and Jordan (1 694 957; 7.8%). Islamic Republic of Iran also reported the highest number of total associated deaths (140 577; CFR 1.9%) followed by Pakistan (30 361; CFR 1.9%) and Tunisia (28 425; CFR 2.7%). The highest CFRs were reported by Yemen (18.1%) followed by Sudan (7.9%), while the lowest CFRs were reported by Qatar (0.2%), United Arab Emirates and Bahrain (0.3% for both).
During epidemiological week 14, the Region reported a decrease in cases of 4% when compared to the previous week (41 325 cases compared to 43 123 cases). A decrease of 12% was also observed for associated deaths (535 deaths compared to 605 deaths).
Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan reported the largest relative increase in COVID-19 activity in week 14. The weekly number of cases increased from 17 582 in week 13 to 22 378 in week 14 in Islamic Republic of Iran (a 27% weekly increase) and from 283 to 314 in Afghanistan (an 11% weekly increase). Sudan had the largest relative increase in deaths.*
In terms of testing, a total of 368 670 455 laboratory PCR tests were conducted since the start of the outbreak across the Region including 2 570 770 tests in week 14, which shows a 21.8% decrease compared to the previous week when 3 133 718 tests were conducted. The highest number of PCR tests was reported from United Arab Emirates (150 million), followed by Islamic Republic of Iran (49.9 million) and Saudi Arabia (41.6 million). The average positivity rate for the Region is 5.8%. WHO recommends a positivity rate of around 3–12% as a general benchmark indicating adequate testing, which was achieved in most countries of the Region.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccination continues across the Region. The total number of doses administered so far in the 22 countries is 693 498 653. Pakistan has administered the highest number of doses at 226 203 802, followed by Islamic Republic of Iran at 147 059 668 and Egypt at 79 618 097. On the other hand, the total number of administrated doses in Sudan is 7 037 185, in Syria is 3 509 910, in Libya is 3 444 646, in Somalia is 2 494 676, in Yemen is 814 569 and in Djibouti is 170 319.**
Supporting countries in the Region
The regional incident management support team continues to coordinate the response and provide technical support to countries and partners in the Region in the areas of coordination and partnership, surveillance, laboratory capacity, clinical management, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, points of entry according to the International Health Regulations (2005), research, health systems, and essential health services among others.
For more data from the Region, please visit the COVID-19 dashboard.
*Reporting on weekly relative difference instead of cumulative difference to better reflect the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic as we witness a decline in reported cases. This decline could be partially due to the change in the frequency and quality of data being shared by some countries as they moved to reporting through weekly aggregated data.
**The data on vaccination is obtained from a number of sources including media reports and country websites for ministries of health.
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