"In the last 28 days (19 December 2022 to 15 January 2023), nearly 13 million cases and almost 53 000 new deaths were reported globally – a decrease of 7% and an increase of 20%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days," the WHO said in a statement.

According to the statement, more than 13,000 deaths and 2.8 million new cases were recorded from January 9-15.

As of January 15, there were more than 662 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, and more than 6.7 million people died, the statement noted.