COVID cases rise in Southeast Asia, Middle East and Europe

LONDON (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases rose in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe last week while the number of deaths globally dropped by 16%, according to the World Health Organization’s latest weekly pandemic report. WHO said Wednesday there were 3.3 million new COVID-19 infections last week, marking a 4% decrease globally and more than 7,500 deaths. But cases jumped by about 45% in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and by about 6% in Europe. Southeast Asia was the only region to report a slight increase in deaths, while figures dropped elsewhere.