The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, 5th of May 2023 announced that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic was declared a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020 or nearly 3.5 years ago.
The decision was announced by WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus based on the recommendation of the WHO Emergency Committee which has met for the 15th time to assess the status of a public health emergency of international concern.
“I have accepted the suggestion. Therefore, it is with great hope that I declare COVID-19 to end as a global health emergency,” Ghebreyesus stated.
However, this announcement does not mean COVID-19 is no longer a global health threat. Tedros explained that the virus was still claiming a life every three minutes last week.
“This virus will still exist, it will still kill, and it will still change. The risk of emergence of new variants leading to spikes in cases and new deaths remains,” Tedros warned.
To that end, Tedros urged countries not to use the announcement as an excuse to let their guard down, to disband the health systems they have built, or to convey to people that COVID-19 is nothing to worry about.
He explained that the declaration meant it was time for countries to shift from emergency mode to handling COVID-19 like any other infectious disease. Emphasizing that it was not a snap decision, Tedros said he would not hesitate to convene an Emergency Committee meeting if COVID-19 again endangered the world.
Since the pandemic started in December 2019, COVID-19 infections have caused nearly 7 million deaths, according to WHO. The agency also recorded 765.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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