The World Health Organization said Monday the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic is now “growing exponentially,” with more than 4.4 million new Covid-19 cases reported over the last week.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency’s technical lead for Covid-19, said “we’re in a critical point of the pandemic,” as some countries ease restrictions even as new cases per week are more than eight times higher than a year ago.

“This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic where we have proven control measures. It is the time right now where everyone has to take stock and have a reality check of what we need to be doing,” she said during a press briefing. “Vaccines and vaccinations are coming online, but they aren’t here yet in every part of the world.”

Covid-19 cases climbed by 9% across the globe last week — the seventh consecutive weekly increase — and deaths jumped 5%, she said, asking governments to support their citizens in implementing pandemic safety measures.

Ontario hospitals may have to withhold care as COVID-19 fills ICUs