at least 
once on COVID -19 hospitalizations and admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) , respectively . From the 
available data, over  173 000 new hospitalizations and over 1900 new ICU admissions were reported  during 
the 28 -day period .  Amongst  the countries reporting these data consistently over the current and past 
reporting period, there was an overall increase  of 40% and 13% in new hospitalizations  and new ICU 
admissions , respectively .  
•  Globally, JN.1 is the most reported VOI (now reported by 71 countries), accounting for 65.5% of sequences 
in week 52 compared to 24.8% in week 48 (Figure 10, Table 6). Its parent lineage, BA.2.86, is stable and 
accounted for 7.8% of sequences in week 52 c ompared to 7.0% in week 48 (Figure 10, Table 6). The initial 
risk evaluation for JN.1  was published on 19 December 2023, with an overall evaluation of low public health 
risk at the global level based on available evidence.  WHO is currently tracking several SARS -CoV-2 variants : 
five VOIs  – XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 , EG.5  BA.2.86  and JN.1 ; and five VUMs : DV.7, XBB, XBB.1.9.1, XBB .1.9.2 and 
XBB.2.3   
• The Global WHO Coronavirus (COVID -19) Dashboard  has been updated and adapted with a new interface 
on 22 December 2023 to support WHO and Member States’ work to transition from COVID -19 as an 
emergency to longer -term disease management, as outlined in WHO’s 3 May 2023 COVID -19 2023