WHO: 4 million new coronavirus cases reported globally

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There were more than 4 million new COVID-19 cases reported globally in the last week, driven mostly by spikes in the Middle East and Asia. That's according to the World Health Organization's latest weekly report on the pandemic.

The U.N. health agency said Wednesday infections have been increasing for more than a month, although the worldwide number of deaths dropped by about 8%.

In the Middle East and Asia, however, deaths increased by more than a third. In the last week, the highest numbers of coronavirus cases were reported by the U.S., India, Indonesia, Brazil and Iran. More than 130 countries have now reported cases of the easier-to-spread delta variant, first identified in India.

After nearly a month of rising cases, WHO said the European region reported a 9% drop in COVID-19 infections, citing falling caseloads in Britain and Spain. Last month, the U.K. relaxed nearly all remaining COVID-19 restrictions amid heavy criticism the move would lead to another deadly wave of infections. Nearly 60% of the British population has been fully immunised against the disease.