WHO: DECLINE IN NEW COVID-19 CASES COULD BE TIED TO DROP IN TESTING

A World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist said this week that the drop in new COVID-19 cases may in part be a result of changing testing rates and advised people to be cautious before celebrating downward trends.

“If you look at the overall epidemic curve, there are fewer cases that were reported in the last week than were in the previous week, but we need to look at this very carefully,” Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the WHO’s COVID-19 response team, said during a live Q&A on Wednesday.

Kerkhove noted many countries have dropped testing requirements, and called it a concerning development due to the “intense level” of viral circulation that is still occurring.

Kerkhove said that while recent trends are “certainly” going in the right direction, there are still many cases that are going unreported. Apart from new coronavirus cases, Kerkhove said the continuing increase in COVID-19-related deaths is now a larger concern while noting that death rates are varying in different part of the world.