WHO: COVID-19 No Longer Global Health Emergency, but Still a Threat

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday that COVID-19 is no longer considered a global health emergency.

During the organization's 15th meeting on COVID-19, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee suggested repealing the public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) declaration, which WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred with, according to CNN.

According to Tedros, the COVID-19 pandemic has been declining for over a year, enabling most nations to resume their way of life before the global outbreak.

On January 30, 2020, the WHO's Emergency Committee proclaimed COVID-19 at the highest level of alert, according to Reuters. This declaration was aimed at drawing international attention to the health threat and facilitating collaboration on vaccines and treatments.

COVID-19 Has Changed The World

The removal of this declaration denotes improvement in these areas, although, while no longer posing an emergency, the WHO has stated that COVID-19 is still an ongoing health concern.

According to Ghebreyesus, COVID-19 has altered the world and its inhabitants, and returning to pre-pandemic life without learning from this experience would be a failure for future generations.

Since its high in January 2021, the weekly mortality rate has plummeted from over 100,000 to just over 3,500 in the week ending April 24, 2023, according to WHO statistics.

The WHO chief stated that the decision to lift the PHEIC status implies that countries must move from an emergency mindset to managing COVID-19 alongside other infectious diseases.

Ghebreyesus said that the Emergency Committee's work would stop, but it has sent a strong message that nations must keep working to address COVID-19, per the Financial Express.

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WHO, World health organization