The Western Pacific region has once again reported an increase in new weekly COVID-19 cases and deaths (up 21 percent and five percent respectively), while for all other regions both figures were stable or decreasing. The Mar 22 WHO epi update signalled 10 countries in the Western Pacific where new cases increased by 20 percent or more: Laos (up 319 percent), Australia (up 161 percent), American Samoa (up 152 percent), Vanuatu (up 141 percent) and Fiji (up 135 percent). As noted in the update, all data published ‘should be interpreted with caution as several countries are progressively changing their testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently numbers of cases detected’.
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