COVID-19 deaths | WHO COVID-19 dashboard (2024)

WHO Health Emergencies Programme

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    Source: World Health Organization

    What is the definition of 'confirmed' and 'reported' in COVID-19 data?

    All data represents the date of reporting as opposed to date of symptom onset. All data is subject to continuous verification and may change based on retrospective updates to accurately reflect trends, changes in country case definitions and/or reporting practices. Significant data errors detected or reported to WHO may be corrected at more frequent intervals with some countries performing retrospective bulk corrections may lead to the appearance of significant spikes or negative values which are verified and validated by WHO.

    In the context of WHO's statistical reporting of COVID-19 data, it is important to note that only confirmed cases are included in case and death counts. In guidance updated on 22 July 2023; there are two alternative definitions for 'Confirmed case of SARS-CoV-2 infection' in international surveillance reporting, although some departures may exist due to local adaptations:

    a) A person with a positive Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT), regardless of clinical criteria OR epidemiological criteria.
    b) A person meeting clinical criteria AND/OR epidemiological criteria (suspect case A) with a positive professional-use or self-test SARS-CoV-2 Antigen-RDT.

    Additionally, WHO only disseminates data as reported by its Member States. From the 31 December 2019 to the 21 March 2020, WHO collected the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths through official communications under the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), complemented by monitoring the official ministries of health websites and social media accounts.

    Since 22 March 2020, global data has been compiled through WHO region-specific dashboards, and/or aggregate count data reported directly to WHO headquarters by Member States. Statistical counts include both domestic and repatriated cases. Case detection, definitions, testing strategies, reporting practice, and lag times (e.g. time to case notification, and time to reporting of deaths) differ between countries, territories and areas. These factors, amongst others, influence the counts presented with variable under or overestimation of true case and death counts, and variable delays to reflecting these statistics at a global level. Please note that statistics do not necessarily reflect the actual number of cases and deaths or the actual number of countries where cases and deaths are occurring, as a number of countries have stopped reporting or changed their frequency of reporting.

    Trends in COVID-19 deaths, %%COUNTRY%%

    Recent COVID-19 deaths reported to WHO (weekly)

    %%COUNTRY%%, July 2023 - present

    Source: World Health Organization

    Data may include corrections and be incomplete for the latest week

    Total COVID-19 deaths reported to WHO (weekly)

    %%COUNTRY%%, January 2020 - present

    Source: World Health Organization

    Why is COVID-19 data being presented as weekly statistics?

    A number of countries have stopped reporting or changed their frequency of reporting COVID-19 case and death counts to WHO. An outcome of these differences in reporting is that WHO may receive daily data from some countries, while other countries mayonly report data to WHO once every 14 days. In addition, countries differ in how they choose to report statistics; some countries provide their data attributed to specific dates while others who report less frequently may group data from 7 days intoa single statistic attributed to a week in their reporting.As of 25 August 2023, WHO declared that it is no longer necessary for Member States to report daily counts of cases and deaths to WHO and requested strengthening of weekly reporting.

    Reported data is still available attributed to specific dates (daily data)hereas a download.Thisdashboard presents the same statistics as weekly figures in charts in order to mitigate against the visual misinterpretation of data. Should daily data have been presented here, many countries would show zero counts for multiple consecutive days duein part to the differences in how they choose to report. While weekly intervals do not completely mitigate against this, the approach reduces the risk that some dashboard users might infer zero cases or deaths when lack of data is often due to reportingdifferences.

    What do negative counts of cases or deaths mean? All data is subject to continuous verification and may change based on retrospective updates to accurately reflect trends, changes in country case definitions and/or reporting practices. Significant data errors detected or reported to WHO may be corrected by Member States at more frequent intervals with some countries performing retrospective bulk corrections in their reporting. Bulk corrections may lead to the appearance of significant spikes or negative values which are verified and validated by WHO.

    Aggregate groups (weekly data to week end date)

    Source: World Health Organization

    COVID-19 deaths, country level trends

    Percent change based on previous 28 days
    Source: World Health Organization

    Metadata

    Glossary and definitions

    Death due to COVID-19

    A COVID-19 death is defined for surveillance purposes as a death resulting from a clinically compatible illness in a probable or confirmed COVID-19 case unless there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be related to COVID-19 disease (e.g. trauma). There should be no period of complete recovery between illness and death

    Last 7 days‘Last 7 days’ refers to the most recent complete epidemiological week (commonly referred to as an 'epi week').
    Last 28 days‘Last 28 days’ refers to the four preceding most recently complete epidemiological weeks.
    WHO RegionsThe World Health Organization (WHO) is divided into six regions with regional offices, each responsible for addressing health challenges and promoting public health within its designated geographical area. These regions serve as administrativeunits that allow the WHO to tailor its efforts to the specific needs, priorities, and health conditions of member countries within each region.
    World Bank Income GroupsThe World Bank classifies economies into income groups based on their Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. These annually updated classifications help the World Bank and other organizations analyze and understand global economic trends,allocate resources, and design development policies.

    Data sources

    COVID-19 death data

    From the 31 December 2019 to the 21 March 2020, WHO collected the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths through official communications under the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), complemented by monitoring the officialministries of health websites and social media accounts. Since 22 March 2020, global data is compiled through WHO region-specific dashboards, and/or aggregate count data reported to WHO headquarters.

    Counts primarily reflect laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths, based upon WHO case definitions; although some departures may exist due to local adaptations. Counts include both domestic and repatriated cases. Case detection, definitions,testing strategies, reporting practice, and lag times (e.g. time to case notification, and time to reporting of deaths) differ between countries, territories and areas. These factors, amongst others, influence the counts presentedwith variable under or overestimation of true case and death counts, and variable delays to reflecting these data at a global level.

    All data represent date of reporting as opposed to date of symptom onset. All data are subject to continuous verification and may change based on retrospective updates to accurately reflect trends, changes in country case definitions and/orreporting practices. Significant data errors detected or reported to WHO may be corrected at more frequent intervals.

    New case and death counts from the Region of the Americas
    Starting from the week commencing on 11 September 2023, the source of the data from the Region of the Americas was switched to the aggregated national surveillances,received through the COVID-19, Influenza, RSV and Other Respiratory Viruses program in the Americas. Data have been included retrospectively since 31 July 2023.

    Rates
    <0.001 per 100,000 population may be rounded to 0.

    Population data

    Estimated populations and projections are drawn from:

    *Total population for France has been adjusted to account for the following overseas territories (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint Martin).

    Copyright and licensing

    Copyright

    Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

    License

    The World Health Organization (“WHO”) encourages public access and use of the data that it collects and publishes on its web site data.who.int. The data are organized in datasets and made available in machine-readable format(“Datasets”). The Datasets have been compiled from data provided by WHO’s Member States under the WHO policy on the use and sharing of data collected by WHO in Member States outside the context of public health emergencies.

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    Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of this license shall, unless amicably settled, be subject to conciliation. In the event of failure of the latter, the dispute shall be settled by arbitration. The arbitration shallbe conducted in accordance with the modalities to be agreed upon by the parties or, in the absence of agreement, with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The parties shall accept the arbitral award as final.

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    Citation

    World Health Organization 2023 data.who.int, WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard > Deaths [Dashboard]. https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths

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    WHO reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Datasets, or any means of accessing or utilizing the Datasets with or without prior notice to you.

    Maps
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    As an expert and enthusiast, I have access to a vast amount of information on various topics, including the concepts mentioned in the article you provided. I can provide information and insights related to these concepts. However, it's important to note that I don't have first-hand expertise or personal experiences. I generate responses based on patterns and information from a wide range of sources.

    Now, let's discuss the concepts mentioned in the article:

    WHO Health Emergencies Programme

    The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is a division of the World Health Organization (WHO) that focuses on preventing, preparing for, detecting, and responding to health emergencies, including outbreaks of infectious diseases like COVID-19. The program aims to provide leadership and coordination in emergency response, support countries in building their capacity to manage health emergencies, and promote the implementation of international health regulations .

    WHO Regions

    The World Health Organization is divided into six regions, each responsible for addressing health challenges and promoting public health within its designated geographical area. The regions are as follows:

    • African Region
    • Eastern Mediterranean Region
    • European Region
    • Region of the Americas
    • South-East Asia Region
    • Western Pacific Region

    These regions serve as administrative units that allow the WHO to tailor its efforts to the specific needs, priorities, and health conditions of member countries within each region.

    World Bank Income Group

    The World Bank classifies economies into different income groups based on their Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. These classifications help the World Bank and other organizations analyze and understand global economic trends, allocate resources, and design development policies. The income groups are as follows:

    • High Income
    • Low Income
    • Lower Middle Income
    • Upper Middle Income

    The classification is updated annually and provides insights into the economic status of countries around the world.

    COVID-19 Data Definitions

    In the context of COVID-19 data reporting by the World Health Organization (WHO), the terms 'confirmed' and 'reported' have specific definitions. It's important to note that all data represents the date of reporting as opposed to the date of symptom onset. The definitions are as follows:

    • Confirmed case of SARS-CoV-2 infection:
      • Definition a): A person with a positive Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT), regardless of clinical criteria OR epidemiological criteria.
      • Definition b): A person meeting clinical criteria AND/OR epidemiological criteria (suspect case A) with a positive professional-use or self-test SARS-CoV-2 Antigen-RDT.

    Only confirmed cases are included in case and death counts reported by the WHO. The definitions may have some local adaptations, but these are the general criteria used for international surveillance reporting .

    COVID-19 Data Reporting

    The World Health Organization (WHO) collects COVID-19 case and death data from its member states. From December 31, 2019, to March 21, 2020, the WHO collected data through official communications under the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), as well as by monitoring official ministries of health websites and social media accounts. Since March 22, 2020, global data has been compiled through WHO region-specific dashboards and/or aggregate count data reported directly to WHO headquarters by member states.

    It's important to note that case detection, definitions, testing strategies, reporting practices, and lag times may differ between countries, territories, and areas. These differences can influence the counts presented, leading to under or overestimation of true case and death counts, as well as variable delays in reflecting these statistics at a global level. Additionally, some countries have stopped reporting or changed their frequency of reporting, which affects the availability and frequency of data reported to the WHO .

    Weekly Statistics Reporting

    COVID-19 data is often presented as weekly statistics due to differences in reporting practices among countries. Some countries may report data to the WHO daily, while others report less frequently, such as once every 14 days. The reporting frequency and methods vary, with some countries attributing data to specific dates, while others group data from 7 days into a single statistic attributed to a week.

    To mitigate the visual misinterpretation of data, the WHO presents the same statistics as weekly figures in charts on their dashboard. This approach reduces the risk of users inferring zero cases or deaths when lack of data is often due to reporting differences. Daily data is still available for download, but it may result in zero counts for multiple consecutive days due to reporting practices.

    Negative Counts of Cases or Deaths

    Negative counts of cases or deaths in COVID-19 data can occur due to significant data errors detected or reported to the WHO. Member states may perform retrospective bulk corrections in their reporting, which can lead to the appearance of significant spikes or negative values. These corrections are verified and validated by the WHO to ensure data accuracy .

    These are the key concepts mentioned in the article you provided. If you have any specific questions or need further information, feel free to ask!

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