COVID-19 cases surged in Mideast in early Jan but deaths fell - WHO official

COVID-19 cases rose 89% in the Eastern Mediterranean region in the first week of January compared with the previous week but deaths fell by 13%, a World Health Organization official said on Thursday.

Out of 22 mostly Middle Eastern countries in the region, 15 have reported cases of the Omicron variant, WHO regional director Ahmed Al-Mandhari said. Six countries in the region have vaccinated less than 10% of their populations, he said.