Globally, the number of new cases increased by 4% during the 28-day period of 11 December 2023 to 7 January 2024 as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 1.1 million new cases, the WHO said.

The number of new deaths decreased by 26% as compared to the previous 28-day period, with 8700 new fatalities reported. As of 7 January 2024, over 774 million confirmed cases and over seven million deaths have been reported globally.

During the period from 11 December 2023 to 7 January 2024, COVID-19 new hospitalizations and admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) both recorded an overall increase of 40% and 13% with over 173 000 and 1900 admissions, respectively.

Globally, JN.1 is currently the most circulating VOI and is now reported by 71 countries, accounting for around 66% of the sequences in week 52 compared to around 25% in week 48. Its parent lineage, BA.2.86, is stable and accounted for 7.8% of sequences in week 52 compared to 7.0% in week 48. The initial risk evaluation for JN.1 was published on 19 December 2023, with an overall evaluation of low public health risk at global level based on available evidence.