Today, according to Reuters estimates, the number of coronavirus infections in the world exceeds 500 million people, while the highly contagious submutant “PA2” strain “Omicron” is spreading to many European countries and Asia.
The PA2 submutant has been blamed for the recent increase in cases in China, as well as recorded infections in Europe. It is called a “ghost mutant” because it is a bit more difficult to track than other coronaviruses.
South Korea leads the world in the average daily number of new infections, with more than 182,000 new infections recorded daily and one in four injuries worldwide, according to a Reuters analysis.
The number of new cases is rising to 20 in more than 240 countries and regions covered by the Reuters census, including Taiwan, Thailand and Bhutan.
Shanghai is battling the worst COVID-19 outbreak in China since the virus first appeared in Wuhan in late 2019, with nearly 25,000 new local infections reported.
