WHO reports alarming hospitalization of 25-59 year olds COVID-19 cases up for 8th straight week, deaths rise for 5th week, with over 3 million reported globally Medical workers take care of patients in the emergency room of the Nossa Senhora da Conceicao hospital that is overcrowding because of the coronavirus outbreak, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, March 11, 2021. REUTERS GENEVA: New cases of COVID-19 increased for the eighth week in a row, with more than 5.2 million reported -- the most in a week so far -- and alarming hospitalizations among people aged 25-59 worldwide, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.