People march in Paris, France, on July 14, 2021, to protest a government decision to impose COVID-19 tests on the unvaccinated amid the pandemic. (Photo: AFP-Yonhap)
The World Health Organization has reported more than 3.4 million new coronavirus cases were confirmed worldwide last week, a 12 percent increase from the previous week.
In a report released Wednesday, the WHO said the highest increases in COVID-19 infections were in the Western Pacific and European regions.
They were driven by new variants and the relaxation of quarantine measures.
"At this rate, it is expected that the cumulative number of cases reported globally could exceed 200 million in the next three weeks," the WHO said.
The U.N. health agency, however, noted that the number of virus-related deaths is continuing to decline, with about 57,000 recorded in the seven days.
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