The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the global count of COVID-19 cases surged by 52 percent in 28 days, with a reported total of 850,000 cases.

According to the WHO's weekly epidemiological report cited by Sputnik, the surge in new cases was recorded from November 20 to December 17, marking a substantial increase compared to the preceding 28-day period.

Throughout this timeframe, the disease claimed the lives of over 3,000 individuals, a figure that stands eight percent lower than the death toll in the previous 28 days, as per the organization's data.

To date, WHO has received reports of more than 772 million confirmed COVID-19 cases globally, accompanied by a total death toll surpassing seven million as of December 17.