The number of new cases and deaths of COVID-19 is declining, while the number of countries with the new strains of COVID-19 is rising, the World Health Organization reported.

For the fourth consecutive week, the number of reported new cases worldwide is declining, with 3.1 million new cases last week, down 17% from the previous week. This is the lowest since the week of October 26. The number of new deaths reported also dropped for the second week in a row, with 88,000 new deaths registered last week, down 10% from the previous week.

However, new COVID-19 strains continue to spread, according to the WHO. Thus, according to the above data, the UK strain was found in 86 countries, South African - in 44 countries, and the Brazilian / Japanese - in 15 countries.