Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 18 May 2023

Globally, nearly 2.6 million new cases and over 17 000 deaths were reported in the last 28 days (17 April to 14 May 2023), a decrease of 14% and 26%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days (20 March to 16 April 2023). The situation is mixed at regional levels, with increases in reported cases seen in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions and increases in deaths in South-East Asia. As of 14 May 2023, over 766 million confirmed cases and over 6.9 million deaths have been reported globally.

In this edition, we include:

• The COVID-19 epidemiological update at the global and the regional levels
• An update on the SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest (VOI) and variants under monitoring (VUM)
• An update on hospitalizations and ICU admissions