The weekly number of coronavirus deaths worldwide has fallen to levels unseen for almost a year, according to an AFP count on Monday based on official national figures. The 53,245 deaths recorded worldwide between September 27 and October 3, an average of 7,606 each day, showed that the global pandemic continues the downward trend that began at the end of August, after a peak of around 10,000 deaths per day.

The new weekly death toll figure is the lowest recorded since October 31-November 6, 2020. Over the last month the number of Covid deaths has fallen by almost a quarter, as vaccination campaigns make progress. After a year of coronavirus waves, linked in particular to the spread of variants including the more contagious Delta strain, the curve of new cases is also down, by almost a third compared to the end of August. With nearly 81 doses of vaccine administered per 100 inhabitants globally, the authorities hope to see this decline continue, even if there are still major disparities between regions. For every 100 residents of North America 123 vaccines doses have been administered. The figure for Africa is 11 doses per 100 people. Since the virus was first discovered in China in late 2019, around 4.8 million people have died of Covid-19. AFP.