WHO declares end of COVID-19 a global health emergency

Geneva —

The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 pandemic over as a global health emergency.

“But that does not mean that COVID-19 is over as a global health threat,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday. “This virus is here to stay.

The first outbreak of COVID-19 occurred in Wuhan, China in November 2019. When the WHO declared his COVID a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020, he had fewer than 100 reported cases and no reported deaths outside of China. It wasn’t.

In the three years since, the number of global COVID-19 deaths reported to WHO has risen to nearly 7 million, but according to Tedros, the real death toll is many times higher, reaching at least 20 million.

“COVID-19 has turned our world upside down,” he said, severely disrupting health systems, causing severe economic and social disruption, and pushing millions into poverty. .

But over the past year or more, “the pandemic has been trending downward, increasing herd immunity through vaccination and infection, reducing mortality and easing pressure on the health care system,” he said. .

He said these were the many who, on the advice of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, decided to lower the alert level and declare the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. I said it was one of the reasons.

Didier Houssain, chairman of the IHR Commission, said only two or three members of the 18-member committee were hesitant to declare the pandemic over as a global threat. said only.

He acknowledged that many uncertainties remain “particularly regarding the evolution of the virus” and said it continues to circulate in all countries as the pandemic continues.

Houssin said the commission also expressed concern about major gaps in monitoring, reporting and health care “especially in the most vulnerable countries”.

“However, the situation has improved markedly, with lower mortality rates, increased immunity to the virus, vaccine-induced or spontaneous immunity, and better access to diagnostics, vaccines and treatments,” he said. Told.

Now, more than three years later, Houssin stressed that “it’s time to confront the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused so much suffering with new tools and new ambitions,” and prepare for future pandemics. emphasized the need

“The battle is not over”

Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergency Program, said the virus persists and continues to pose a threat, but with much lower levels of impact, tragedy, hospitalizations and deaths.

“By applying science and applying hard-earned lessons from this pandemic, we have brought the virus under control,” Ryan said.

“We now have to move on to the next stage. It’s been revealed and needs to be fixed,” he said.

The public health emergency may be over, but for the most part, he observed, “pandemics really end when the next one starts.” This means that the world needs to prepare for what is yet to come.

His colleague Maria Van Kerkhov, WHO Technical Lead for COVID-19, took up the subject and warned that the virus is evolving. “We are not in a crisis situation, but we cannot let our guard down. Epidemiologically, this virus will continue to cause waves,” she said.

“What we want is that we have the tools in place to ensure future waves don’t bring more waves of sickness and death. We can do that with the tools at hand.” she said. “The virus will continue to evolve, so we need to make sure we are tracking it.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “The virus is here to stay and … it is time for countries to move from emergency mode to managing COVID-19 alongside other infectious diseases.”

He said the world must prepare for the next pandemic that is certain to come and “move forward with a shared commitment to address shared threats with a shared response.”