The global seven-day rolling average of new coronavirus cases neared a record high Sunday and again Monday, according to tracking by The Washington Post.
The Post’s analysis, which uses data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, found that the seven-day rolling average for new cases worldwide hit 750,800 on Sunday and stayed at that level Monday.
That means the average of new cases over the past seven days was higher than at any point during the pandemic, except for one day: Dec. 17.
The high level of new daily cases — 802,275 on Friday — comes despite the widespread rollout of vaccinations in many parts of the world, including the United States.
These vaccination programs notwithstanding, new cases are surging in some countries. India announced Sunday that it had added 274,000 new cases, a record for the country.
Last week, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that infections were spreading at “worrying rates.”
“Globally, the number of new cases per week has nearly doubled over the past two months,” he said Friday. “This is approaching the highest rate of infection that we have seen so far during the pandemic.”
