As Canada comes to grips with a raging sixth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday that the number of global COVID-19 cases has dropped for a second consecutive week and that related deaths are following suit.

In its latest pandemic report, the WHO said 9 million cases were reported, a 16% weekly decline, and that infections were down in all regions.

But the UN health agency also reported more than 26,000 new deaths from COVID-19 and warned that the reported numbers carry considerable uncertainty because many countries (including Canada) have stopped widespread testing for the coronavirus, meaning that many cases are likely going undetected.

And WHO said it was also tracking an omicron variant that is a recombination of two versions: BA.1 and BA.2, which was first detected in Britain in January. WHO said early estimates suggest the recombined omicron could be about 10% more transmissible than previous mutations, but further evidence is needed.

The agency has continued to warn countries not to drop their protocols too quickly and predicted that future variants could spread easily if surveillance and testing systems are shelved.

Last week, the UK said COVID-19 had hit record levels across the country, with government statistics estimating that about 1 in 13 people were infected. Those figures came on the same day the British government abandoned its free testing program. On Wednesday, Ontario reported over an estimated 100,000 infections, the highest daily level of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities conducted more mass testing this week across Shanghai, which remains in lockdown following another jump in infections; the city has recorded more than 90,000 cases but no deaths during the pandemic.