COVID-19 patient receives treatment in Rome, Italy. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge told a press conference that COVID is on the rise in 18 out of 53 countries in the European region. He said the main reason behind the increase is likely the BA.2 variant, which is more transmissible, but not more dangerous than other variants.

474 million COVID-19 cases and 6.1 million deaths had been reported worldwide as of Wednesday noon, according to worldometers.info.

South Korea had the most new cases in the past 24 hours (354,000), followed by Germany and France. Meanwhile, the US topped the world in the number of new deaths, followed by Russia and Brazil.

China is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 infections driven by the omicron variant. Chinese authorities earlier this week placed a lockdown order in Changchun in Jilin province because of rising cases.