Coronavirus cases levelling off, says World Health Organisation

A health worker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a woman in Bangkok, Thailand (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

The number of new coronavirus cases reported globally appears to be stabilising at about 4.5 million infections after steadily rising for the past two months, the World Health Organisation said.

In its weekly assessment of the pandemic, the UN health agency said Covid-19 increased by about 20% and 8% in the Western Pacific and in the Americas, while rates of disease either remained the same or dropped in other regions.