COVID-19 epidemiological update – 15 March 2024

Overview

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 around 11% as of 3 March 2024.

Globally, JN.1 is the most reported VOI (now reported by 115 countries), accounting for 90.3% of sequences in week 9 compared to 89.4% in week six. Its parent lineage, BA.2.86, is declining and accounted for 2.2% of sequences in week 9 compared to 3.0% in week six.

Globally, the number of new cases decreased by 44% during the past 28-day period of 5 February to 3 March 2024 compared to the previous 28-day period (8 January to 4 February 2024), with over two hundred and ninety-two thousand new cases reported. The number of new deaths decreased by 51% as compared to the previous 28-day period, with 6200 new fatalities reported. As of 3 March 2024, over 774 million confirmed cases and more than seven million deaths have been reported globally.

During the period from 5 February to 3 March 2024, COVID-19 new hospitalizations and admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) both recorded an overall decrease of 35% and 64% with over 78 000 and 500 admissions, respectively.

In this edition, we include:

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