WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of Covid-19 last month.

Dr Tedros said that nearly 10,000 deaths had been reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42 per cent in nearly 50 countries that were mostly in Europe and the Americas.

The director-general said: “Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable.”

He said it was “certain” that cases were on the rise in other places that have not been providing reports and called on governments to keep up surveillance and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines.

Dr Tedros said that the JN1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. It is an omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection.

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at WHO for Covid-19, cited an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe due to the coronavirus but also flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.

“We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere,” she said, while noting increases in Covid-19 during the summer of the southern hemisphere.

While bouts of coughs, sniffling, fever and fatigue in the winter are nothing new, Dr Van Kerkhove said this year in particular ”we are seeing co-circulation of many different types of pathogens.”

WHO officials recommend that people get vaccinated when possible, wear masks and make sure indoor areas are well-ventilated.

WHO head of emergencies Michael Ryan said: “The vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly significantly reducing your chance of being hospitalised or dying.”