COVID-19 epidemiological update – 19 January 2024

Overview

Globally, the number of new cases increased by 4% during the 28-day period of 11 December 2023 to 7 January 2024 as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 1.1 million new cases. The number of new deaths decreased by 26% as compared to the previous 28-day period, with 8700 new fatalities reported. As of 7 January 2024, over 774 million confirmed cases and over seven million deaths have been reported globally. 

During the period from 11 December 2023 to 7 January 2024, COVID-19 new hospitalizations and admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) both recorded an overall increase of 40% and 13% with over 173 000 and 1900 admissions, respectively. 

Globally, JN.1 is currently the most circulating VOI and is now reported by 71 countries, accounting for around 66% of the sequences in week 52 compared to around 25% in week 48. Its parent lineage, BA.2.86, is stable and accounted for 7.8% of sequences in week 52 compared to 7.0% in week 48. The initial risk evaluation for JN.1 was published on 19 December 2023, with an overall evaluation of low public health risk at global level based on available evidence.

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).