Between 5 and 12 July, 6.2 million new cases of Covid-19 were reported around the world, a 15% increase compared with the previous week and the fourth consecutive week of rising infections. Case numbers rose in all regions. Europe saw the largest increase (chart 1): infections rose by 20% to 3 million, representing 48% of the global total. France had the most infections (897,111), followed by Italy (667,381) and Germany (631,866). Currently, 67% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 12.2 billion doses have been delivered worldwide (chart 2).
Retail and leisure footfall remains high in developed countries. In Germany and France, footfall has been back at pre-pandemic levels since early July, while Belgium reached that milestone in June (chart 3). In Italy, retail footfall seems to be stabilising and remains very close to its pre-Covid level. However, it is still below pre-Covid levels in other countries (Spain, Japan, the UK and the US).
Finally, the OECD weekly tracker (GDP proxy) is continuing to fall in the US and UK, and to a lesser extent in France, Italy and Belgium. However, it remains stable in Spain and Japan. In Germany, the indicator is falling a little more sharply (chart 3, black line). The OECD tracker is based on Google Trends data, reflecting internet searches regarding consumer spending, labour markets, housing, industrial activity and economic uncertainty. The charts here show year-on-year changes in the indicator.
