By Reuters Staff

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       FILE PHOTO: People stand in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, at the Narok County Referral Hospital, in Narok, Kenya, December 1, 2021. Picture taken December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

       DAKAR (Reuters) -Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in weekly COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

       Recorded weekly cases have fallen for the past 16 weeks and deaths for the last eight, the latter dropping to 239 in the past week, it said in a statement.

       The upcoming cold season in the southern hemisphere could prompt a new spike in cases, it said.

       “With the virus still circulating, the risk of new and potentially more deadly variants emerging remains, and the pandemic control measures are pivotal to effective response to a surge in infections” said WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti.

       Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and John Stonestreet

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