India reports 1,233 new Covid 19 cases and 31 deaths in the last 24 hours; active cases 14,704. Global weekly toll up 43% as India adjusts old fatalities:

Deaths from Covid-19 last week rose by 43%, driven by factors including ‘retrospective adjustments’ reported from India in the South-East Asia Region, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday.

The Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update said that between the end of January and early March 2022, there was a decreasing trend in the number of new Covid-19 cases, which was followed by two consecutive weeks of increases in cases. During the week of March 21 through 27, 2022, the number of new cases declined again with a 14% decrease as compared to the previous week.

“On the other hand, during the same period, the number of new weekly deaths increased by 43%, likely driven by changes in the definition of Covid-19 deaths in some countries in the Region of the Americas (Chile and the US) and by retrospective adjustments reported from India in the South-East Asia Region,” the update said.