COVID-19 epidemiological update – 17 May 2024

Edition 167. SARS-CoV-2 PCR percent positivity, as detected in integrated sentinel surveillance as part of the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) and reported to FluNet was 7.3% from 79 countries during the week ending 28 April 2024.  KP.3 and KP.2, both descendent lineages of JN.1 and variants under monitoring (VUMs) accounted for 20.0% and 9.6% of sequences in week 17 compared to 3.5% and 6.4% in week 14, respectively. Globally, JN.1 is the most reported variant of interest (VOI) (now reported by 130 countries), accounting for 54.3% of sequences in week 17 and having declined from a prevalence of 69.0% in week 14. Globally, the number of new cases decreased by 48% during the past 28-day period of 1 to 28 April 2024 compared to the previous 28-day period (4 to 31 March 2024), with over one hundred and forty-seven thousand new cases reported. The number of new deaths decreased by 44% as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 2600 new fatalities reported. As of 28 April 2024, over 775 million confirmed cases and more than seven million deaths have been reported globally.  During the period from 1 to 28 April 2024, COVID-19 new hospitalizations and admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) both recorded an overall decrease of 35% and 45% with over 32 000 and more than 250 admissions, respectively.