The number of COVID-19 cases has jumped dramatically over the past week with an average of 2,740 people testing positive each day between December 20, 2021, and December 23. Over one-third of all samples sent to medical laboratories have been coming back positive, though the death toll is far lower than what was observed during the pandemic's third wave between September and October this year. The previous record number of cases recorded in a single day was at the beginning of last April when around 2,370 samples tested positive. Nearly 7,000 people have lost their lives to the virus since March 2020, and around 10 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine since the Ministry of Health began its vaccination campaign last April.