The coronavirus disease COVID-19 continues to spread at the regional and global levels. As of 19 March 2022, the global cumulative incidence reached 466 816 173 reported cases and 6 072 920 associated deaths with a case-fatality ratio (CFR) of 1.3%. Meanwhile, the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) have reported a total of 21 510 404 cases, which represent about 4.6% of the global count, with 339 485 associated deaths (CFR 1.6%). Most countries in the Region are in the community transmission phase.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the country that has reported the highest number of total cases in the Region is Islamic Republic of Iran (7 139 217 cases; 33.2% of the Region’s total), followed by Iraq (2 315 791; 10.7%) and Jordan (1 689 314; 7.8%). Islamic Republic of Iran also reported the highest number of total associated deaths (139 550; CFR 1.9 %) followed by Pakistan (30 329; CFR 2.0%) and Tunisia (28 165; CFR 2.8%). The highest CFRs were reported by Yemen (18%) followed by Sudan (6.4%), while the lowest CFRs were reported by Qatar (0.2%), United Arab Emirates and Bahrain (0.3% for both).
During epidemiological week 11, the Region reported a decrease in cases of 50% when compared to the previous week (66 934 cases compared to 134 327 cases). A decrease of 31% was observed for associated deaths (1188 deaths compared to 1724 deaths).
Bahrain and Egypt reported the largest relative increase in COVID-19 activity in week 11. The cumulative number of cases increased from 536 241 to 543 835 in Bahrain (a 1.4 % weekly increase) and from 495 373 to 500 889 in Egypt (a 1.1 % weekly increase). The rest of the countries in EMR reported relative cumulative decrees in reported cases. Sudan had the largest relative increase in deaths.
In terms of testing, a total of 359 701 782 laboratory PCR tests were conducted since the start of the outbreak across the Region including 3 648 325 tests in week 10, which shows an 8% decrease compared to the previous week when 3 973 555 tests were conducted. The highest number of PCR tests were reported from United Arab Emirates (144 million), followed by Islamic Republic of Iran (48.6 million) and Saudi Arabia (41.3 million). The average positivity rate for the Region is 5.8%. WHO recommends a positivity rate of around 3–12% as a general benchmark indicating adequate testing, which was achieved in most countries of the Region.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccination continues across the Region. The total number of doses administered so far in the 22 countries is 682 457 267. Pakistan has administered the highest number of doses at 226 203 802, followed by Islamic Republic of Iran at 144 014 024 and Egypt at 75 368 174. On the other hand, the total number of administrated doses in Sudan is 6 131 070, in Libya is 3 396 869, in Syria is 3 358 229, in Somalia is 2 335 560, in Yemen is 807 502 and in Djibouti is 164 197.*
Supporting countries in the Region
The regional incident management support team continues to coordinate the response and provide technical support to countries and partners in the Region in the areas of coordination and partnership, surveillance, laboratory capacity, clinical management, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, points of entry according to the International Health Regulations (2005), research, health systems, and essential health services among others.
For more data from the Region, please visit the COVID-19 dashboard.
*The data on vaccination is obtained from a number of sources including media reports and country websites for ministries of health.
Subscribe to the monthly infectious hazard preparedness newsletter of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme for latest data and analysis on epidemic- and pandemic-prone diseases, as well as news on outbreak preparedness and response within WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region.
