The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday declared that Covid-19 pandemic is over as a global health emergency.
The announcement was made by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, while addressing a media briefing on Covid-19 and global health issues in Geneva.
“It is, therefore, with great hope that I declare Covid-19 over as a global health emergency. However, that does not mean Covid-19 is over as a global health threat. Last week, Covid-19 claimed a life every three minutes – and that’s just the deaths we know about,” he said.
“As we speak, thousands of people around the world are fighting for their lives in intensive care units. And millions more continue to live with the debilitating effects of post Covid-19 conditions,” he added.
The WHO had declared Covid-19 as a global emergency in January 2020.
Tedros said 1,221 days ago, the WHO learned of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China.
“On the 30th January 2020, on the advice of an Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of Covid-19 – the highest level of alarm under international law,” Tedros said.
He said at that time, outside China there were fewer than 100 reported [Covid-19] cases, and no reported deaths.
In the three years since then, Covid-19 has turned our world upside down. Almost 7 million deaths have been reported to WHO, but we know the toll is several times higher – at least 20 million,” Tedros noted.
“What this news means is that it is time for countries to transition from emergency mode to managing Covid-19 alongside other infectious diseases,” he added.