Risk assessment of global COVID-19 pandemic in May 2023

  Objective   To assess the global epidemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in May 2023 and the risk of importation.

  Methods   According to the daily COVID-19 data publicly released by World Health Organization, combined with the travel restrictions published by Sherpa, an epidemiological description method was used to provide a comprehensive and timely assessment of the global epidemic risk through a general overview, a comprehensive assessment of the epidemic trends in each continent and key countries, as well as a comprehensive analysis of the epidemic and travel requirements in 14 neighboring countries.

  Results   Compared with the previous month, the number of confirmed cases and deaths globally decreased by 31.36% and 38.5% respectively in May 2023. South Korea, Australia and Greece were countries with global concern, the new cases of which increased significantly this month compared with the last month. Close attention should be paid to Puerto Rico in North America, New Zealand in Oceania, Mauritius and Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. Special concern should be paid to Vietnam among the 14 land-boarding countries.

  Conclusion   The global daily new confirmed cases and deaths showed a downward trend in May. It is necessary to continuously monitor countries with global concern and establish a communication mechanism with relevant agencies to exchange information and provide timely warnings.