COVID-19 cases surge across GCC as WHO reports global rise in infections

Al Arabiya

4 days ago

COVID-19 infections are rising sharply across GCC countries, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE among nations driving a global surge that has pushed test positivity rates to levels not seen since July 2024, according to the latest World Health Organization report.
Global SARS-CoV-2 activity has increased significantly since mid-February 2025, with test positivity rates reaching 11 percent across 73 reporting countries - matching peaks observed during last summer's wave, the WHO report indicated.
The Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes GCC states, has emerged as a key driver of the current surge, with test positivity rates climbing from four percent in mid-March to 17 percent by late April before declining slightly to 15 percent in mid-May.
'Recent reports of increases in circulation have been observed in five countries to date, including Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan,' the WHO said in its latest epidemiological update.
The surge represents a sharp reversal from the relatively low transmission levels observed in the first quarter of 2025, when many countries reported test positivity rates as low as 2 percent.
New variant
Contributing to the rise is the emergence of NB.1.8.1, a new variant under monitoring that WHO designated in early 2025. The variant, which carries mutations that may enhance transmissibility and immune evasion, now represents 10.7 percent of global sequences reported as of mid-May, up from just 2.5 percent four weeks earlier.
'Spike mutations at position 445 have been shown to enhance binding affinity to hACE2 receptor, which could increase the variant's transmissibility,' the WHO said.
The variant's rapid spread coincides with the declining circulation of LP.8.1, which had been the dominant strain since mid-March but is now being overtaken by NB.1.8.1 in many regions.
While the Eastern Mediterranean region shows concerning trends, WHO officials reported gaps in surveillance data from the region, including GCC countries.
'The reporting of COVID-19 associated hospitalizations, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions, and deaths is very limited from the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the South-East Asia Region, and the Western Pacific Region and does not allow for evaluation of the impact on health systems by WHO,' the organization stated.
The WHO report highlighted persistently low vaccination rates globally, including among high-risk groups in Gulf countries. Among older adults across 75 reporting member states, just 1.68 percent had received a COVID-19 vaccine dose in 2024 through September, while uptake among healthcare workers stood at only 0.96 percent.
Regional disparities were also noted, with the Eastern Mediterranean region reporting coverage rates of less than 0.5 percent among older adults, significantly lower than the 5.1 percent achieved in Europe and 3.6 percent in the Americas.
The WHO's Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition continues to recommend vaccines for at-risk groups, it said.
The current surge across the GCC reflects a broader pattern of renewed COVID-19 activity across multiple regions. The Western Pacific region has seen test positivity rates climb from 5 percent to 11 percent over the past month, while the South-East Asia region experienced increases from 0.5 percent to 5 percent since early April.
Unlike previous waves, the current surge lacks clear seasonal patterns, complicating efforts to predict and prepare for transmission peaks.
'Recent increases in SARS-CoV-2 activity are broadly consistent with levels observed during the same period last year, however, there still lacks a clear seasonality in SARS-CoV-2 circulation,' the WHO said.
The WHO maintains that the global public health risk associated with COVID-19 remains high, despite evidence of decreasing impact on human health compared to earlier pandemic years.
GCC countries, like other WHO member countries, are encouraged to maintain integrated surveillance systems, ensure equitable vaccine access, strengthen healthcare delivery, and enhance risk communication efforts.
The organization specifically recommends that countries 'continue to monitor and report SARS-CoV-2 activity and burden, public health and healthcare system impacts of COVID-19, strengthen genomic sequencing capacity and reporting, in particular information on SARS-CoV-2 variants.'