It has been a relatively quiet Friday/Saturday/Sunday for Covid news – although part of the “quietness” is perhaps my feeling a bit saturated with repeating and repetitive stories about surging numbers of new cases all around the US and world, which I’ll spare you from.
One non-Covid thing. If you missed it on Friday in our regular newsletter, could I ask you to please share your opinion by voting in our reader survey on how long is too long to stay on hold. The link will take you directly to that part of the newsletter to make it quick and easy for you to vote.
Thank you for sharing your opinion on this.
Current Numbers
There were no changes at all to the minor country list. In the major country list, Portugal jumped two places, while France had a matching fall of two places.
Argentina rose two places on the death list. The UK is starting to register higher death numbers, but the US is still catching up, albeit at a glacial rate.
The list of countries with the most countries per million people in the last week showed, as always, some large changes. Of greatest relevance for many of us will be the continued rise of the UK (now up to fifth place) and the Netherlands appearing on the list too. The Netherlands has the third highest increase in cases over the last week of any country in the world (a truly stunning 574% rise, from 5,835 cases last week to 39,332 this week).
The UK’s increase, by comparison, was a positively pedestrian 28%, and we in the US rose by about 25% (I have to guess a bit because many states haven’t reported case numbers for either Saturday or Sunday).
Other European countries are also experiencing strong rises in cases. Ireland is 18% up, Spain 22%, Iceland 24%, Portugal 30%, Germany 32%, Italy 52%, France 63%, Belgium 82% and Austria 84%, while Greece is also in the triple figures, with a 141% rise.
The world as a whole reported an 11% increase in cases over the last week.
Top Case Rates Minor (population under 10 million) Countries (cases per million)
| Rank | One Week Ago | Today |
| 1 | Andorra (179,845) | Andorra (181,866) |
| 2 | Seychelles (160,236) | Seychelles (168,524) |
| 3 | Montenegro | Montenegro |
| 4 | Bahrain | Bahrain |
| 5 | San Marino | San Marino |
| 6 | Maldives | Maldives |
| 7 | Gibraltar (129,628) | Gibraltar (131,528) |
| 8 | Slovenia | Slovenia |
| 9 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg |
| 10 | Uruguay (106,921) | Uruguay (108,024) |
Top Case Rates Major (population over 10 million) Countries (cases per million)
| Rank | One Week Ago | Today |
| 1 | Czech Republic (155,461) | Czech Republic (155,587) |
| 2 | Sweden (107,342) | Sweden |
| 3 | USA (103,895) | USA (104,305) |
| 4 | Argentina (99,434) | Argentina (101,883) |
| 5 | Netherlands | Netherlands (100,644) |
| 6 | Belgium | Belgium |
| 7 | France | Portugal |
| 8 | Brazil | Brazil |
| 9 | Portugal | France |
| 10 | Colombia (84,594) | Colombia (87,716) |
| 11 | Spain | Spain |
| 12 | Chile (81,415) | Chile (82,320) |
Top Death Rate Major Countries (deaths per million)
| Rank | One Week Ago | Today |
| 1 | Peru (5,775) | Peru (5,809) |
| 2 | Czech Republic (2,825) | Czech Republic (2,827) |
| 3 | Brazil | Brazil |
| 4 | Belgium | Colombia (2,193) |
| 5 | Colombia (2,117) | Argentina |
| 6 | Italy | Belgium |
| 7 | Argentina | Italy |
| 8 | Poland (1,986) | Poland (1,988) |
| 9 | UK (1,879) | UK (1,882) |
| 10 | USA (1,866) | USA (1,870) |
Top Rates in New Cases Reported in the Last Week (new cases per million) for Countries over one million population
| Rank | One Week Ago | Today |
| 1 | Mongolia 4,673 | Cyprus 5,138 |
| 2 | Namibia 4,251 | Tunisia 4,519 |
| 3 | Colombia | Namibia |
| 4 | Tunisia | Mongolia |
| 5 | Argentina | UK 3,201 |
| 6 | Kuwait | Colombia |
| 7 | Cyprus | Cuba |
| 8 | UK 2,514 | Kuwait |
| 9 | Oman | Argentina |
| 10 | South Africa | Netherlands |
| 11 | Uruguay | South Africa |
| 12 | Cuba 1,934 | Georgia 2,036 |
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Items below include a look at the push for a third dose of vaccine to be given, a graphic look at virus numbers growing in Europe, and an analysis of an article suggesting Africa is sinking under the weight of new Covid cases (quick summary – it isn’t).
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Please stay happy and healthy; all going well, I’ll be back again on Thursday.
Please click here for a listing of all our Covid-19 articles.
