Here is a state of play based on AFP’s database.

Three million cases 

The number of average daily cases leapt to a record 3.1 million this week to Thursday, an increase of 11% compared to the previous seven days according to an AFP tally.

However, the upsurge was less marked than in previous weeks, when the highly contagious Omicron variant began its rampage.

The confirmed cases only reflect a fraction of the actual number of infections, with varying counting practices and levels of testing in different countries.

Upsurge in Asia 

The week’s main upsurge took place in Asia – particularly in India – where the number of daily cases increased by 57%. There was also an increase of 36% in the Latin America-Caribbean zone and the Middle East, which was up 32%.

However, there was a let up in areas where Omicron appeared first, with cases falling by a tenth in Africa and 6% in the US and Canada.

Although infections increased by 9% in Europe, this was still at a slower pace than in previous weeks.

Oceania also saw an improvement with cases down by almost a third.

Main spikes 

Nepal saw the biggest increase in new infections, with cases rocketing by 330%.

It was followed by Kosovo with an increase of 281%, Kazakhstan 271%, Iraq 256% and Japan 252%.

Main drops 

Ireland saw the biggest drop in new cases, with a 56% decline, followed by Namibia with a 51% drop, then Cyprus with 35%, while the UK and Greece saw 32% fewer cases each.

US still has most cases 

The US remains by far the country with the biggest number of new cases with 751,900 per day on average, a decrease of 6% from the previous week.

Next in line came France with 337,200, an increase of 15%, and India with 271,500, an increase of 57%.

On a per capita basis, the country with the biggest number of new cases this week remained Denmark with 3,826 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. It was followed by Israel with 3,589, France 3,496, Portugal 2,796 and Slovenia 2,733.

Deaths on the rise again 

At a global level, the number of Covid-linked deaths took off again, up 9% compared to the previous week to 7,526 per day.

The US mourned the most daily deaths with 1,969 per day, followed by Russia with 698 and India with 380.

The countries reporting the highest death rates in proportion to their population were Trinidad and Tobago with 8.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria with 8.50, Slovakia and Croatia with 7.2 each and Bosnia with seven.