The organization added that cases in the region increased by 27.2 percent last week compared to the previous week, driven mainly by a rise in cases of infection in the United States.
More than half of the total 918,000 cases came from North America, with a 33% jump in cases in the United States last week to 605,000 cases.
“The use of masks and social distancing has benefited us greatly since the beginning of the pandemic, and these measures are still required to reduce the spread of the virus,” WHO Director-General Carissa Etienne said, adding that governments must be ready to tighten these measures whenever cases and deaths from the disease increase.
She added in a press conference that many people are still at risk, as only 14 out of 51 countries in the Americas have fulfilled the World Health Organization’s goal to vaccinate 70 percent of their population.
