The number of coronavirus cases worldwide over the past week has decreased by 17% compared to the previous week, while deaths worldwide have decreased by 7%, the WHO reported.

The omicron variant is becoming increasingly dominant, accounting for nearly 97% of all cases counted by the international virus tracking platform known as GISAID, according to the organization's report. Slightly more than 3% accounted for the delta variant.

The prevalence of the omicron variant has increased worldwide and is now found in almost all countries, the WHO said in a statement. However, many of the countries that reported an early rise in cases due to the omicron variant are now reporting a decline in the total number of new cases since early January 2022.

In total, the WHO reported more than 19 million new cases of COVID-19 and fewer than 68,000 new deaths in the week of 31 January to 6 February. Experts say that such figures greatly underestimate the real losses.

The number of cases fell in each of the six WHO regions, with the exception of the Eastern Mediterranean zone, which saw a jump of 36%, especially due to increases in Afghanistan, Iran and Jordan.

In Europe, the number of cases fell by 7%, driven by declines in countries such as France and Germany, while countries in Eastern Europe such as Azerbaijan, Belarus and Russia showed increases.

In the Americas, cases fell by 36%, with the United States - still the hardest hit country - reporting 1.87 million new cases, down 50% from the previous week.