GENEVA, Switzerland (CMC) — World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday warned of a surge worldwide in infections linked to the coronavirus (COVID-19), saying they are unlikely to decline anytime soon.

WHO said it is also concerned that more severe variants of the coronavirus may soon be on the horizon.

“COVID-19 is still very much with us,” and circulating in all countries, the WHO’s Dr Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters.

“Data from our sentinel-based surveillance system across 84 countries report that the per cent of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been rising over several weeks,” she said.

WHO said new waves of infection have been registered in the Americas, Europe, and the western Pacific, and that wastewater surveillance suggests the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 is from two to 20 times higher than current figures suggest.

It said such high infection circulation rates in the northern hemisphere’s summer months are atypical for respiratory viruses, which tend to spread mostly in cold temperatures.

“In recent months, regardless of the season, many countries have experienced surges of COVID-19, including at the Olympics where at least 40 athletes have tested positive,” Dr Van Kerkhove said.

As the virus continues to evolve and spread there is a growing risk of a more severe strain of the virus that could potentially evade detection systems and be unresponsive to medical intervention.

WHO said that while hospital admissions, including for intensive care, are still much lower than they were during the peak of the pandemic, it is urging governments to strengthen vaccination campaigns, making sure that the highest-risk groups get shots at least once every 12 months.

“As individuals it is important to take measures to reduce risk of infection and severe disease, including ensuring that you have had a COVID-19 vaccination dose in the last 12 months — especially if you are in an at-risk group,” said Dr Van Kerkhove.

Vaccine availability has declined substantially over the last 12 to 18 months, WHO admitted, because the number of producers of COVID-19 vaccines has recently decreased.

“It is very difficult for them to maintain the pace — and certainly, they don’t need to maintain the pace that they had in 2021 and 2022. But, let’s be very clear: There is a market for COVID-19 vaccines that are [already] out there,” said Dr Van Kerkhove.