Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, says WHO

Covid-19 is “no longer a global health emergency” in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) view, reducing the threat level posed by the coronavirus after three years of high alert .

At a May 5 press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic had been on a “downward trend” for more than a year, with vaccinations and infectious diseases increasing herd immunity and reducing mortality. and alleviating pressure on health services. “This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as they knew it before covid-19,” he said.

“Yesterday, the Emergency Committee held its 15th meeting and recommended me to declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. [PHEIC],” he added. “I took that advice.”

Covid-19 was declared a PHEIC on January 30, 2020, after the virus that first emerged in China in December 2019 spread to 18 other countries.

This is the highest alarm WHO can sound about a global threat to public health, that such an event is an anomaly, constitutes an international public health threat, and requires a coordinated international response. considered necessary.

Ending the PHEIC declaration is a major symbolic step towards the end of the pandemic. This also means that countries are under no obligation to share health data with WHO.

According to WHO, covid-19 has infected more than 765 million people and killed more than 7 million people worldwide since 2020. However, thanks to the mutation of the virus and the deployment of a global vaccine, the disease is less likely to cause serious illness.

With many governments including the US and UK lifting restrictions on social distancing, wearing masks and testing, many countries have already returned to near-normal in recent months.

However, Tedros warned that the coronavirus “will stay here” and stressed that countries should move to manage the virus in the same way they do other infectious diseases such as influenza.

“It’s still killing and it’s still changing. The risk remains that new variants will emerge that will cause new spikes in cases and deaths,” he said. “The worst thing any country can do right now is use this news to let their guard down, tear down the systems they built, and send a message to their citizens that covid-19 is nothing to worry about.”

The emergency committee has now been dissolved, but a new review panel will be established to develop long-term recommendations to advise countries on managing covid-19 on an ongoing basis, Tedros added. rice field.