In its weekly report issued on Wednesday, the UN health agency says the highest numbers of new cases were from Brazil, India, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. WHO says the easier-to-spread delta variant has now been identified in 111 countries since first being detected in India and it expects the variant to become globally dominant in coming months.

WHO says more transmissible versions of COVID-19 could emerge and “coupled with the relaxation and inappropriate use of public health and social measures and increased social mobility and mixing,” numerous countries would see higher cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

The organisation acknowledged many countries are now facing “considerable pressure” to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions but warned that “improper planning or assessment of the risk of transmission during any gathering or travel provides opportunity for the virus to spread".