(ANSA) - BELGRADE, MAR 10 - Countries in Central and Eastern Europe recorded almost 500,000 new infections and registered a surge in deaths from Covid in the week ending March 7, according to the latest epidemiological update of the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the WHO epidemiological update, a total of 498,354 new COVID-19 cases (+15,1% compared to a week earlier) and 9,821 new deaths (+5.0% week-on-week) were reported by the countries in the Balkans and in Central- and Eastern Europe through March 7, bringing the cumulative total of cases to 11,853,281 and of deaths to 275,441.

According to WHO data, in the past week the countries across Central- and Eastern Europe that reported more new cases were Poland (87928), Czechia (85581), Germany (57846), Ukraine (53379), Hungary (37148), Serbia (25947), and Romania (25831).

The countries across the region that reported more new deaths last week were Germany (1855), Poland (1516), Czechia (1378), Ukraine (1040), Hungary (899), Slovakia (647) and Romania (567).

In Central- and Eastern Europe, the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic were reported in Germany (71900), Poland 45285), Ukraine (27022), Czechia (21717), Romania (20854), Hungary (15873) and Bulgaria (10593).

Czechia is now the country in the region with the highest ratio between deaths and population, with 203 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population, compared to 165 in Italy, followed by Slovenia (201), Montenegro (169), Hungary (164), Bosnia-Herzegovina (160), Bulgaria and North Macedonia (153).

In Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and in the Western Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania) 2,516,439 confirmed cumulative cases (+96,083) and 58,786 total deaths (+1,663) were registered as of March 7.

According to official data collected by the portal Our World in Data, updated as of March 8st, Serbia (with 25.0 doses per 100 people) is second in Europe after the United Kingdom (34.6) and before Malta (22.1) for COVID-19 vaccination doses administered per 100 people. In Central- and Eastern Europe, the countries that are vaccinating at the fastest pace are Hungary (14.09), which speeded up vaccination using the Russian and Chinese jabs, Lithuania (11.2), Estonia (10.9) and Greece (10.8), against 9.2 in Italy. (ANSA).