The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency, News About Nigeria reports.
This announcement was made during the 15th meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee held on Thursday.
In a statement released on Friday, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, agreed with the committee’s resolution that the pandemic is no longer a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
Tedros stated that the pandemic has reduced, allowing most countries to return to normalcy.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, WHO has been closely monitoring the pandemic’s impact globally.
The global health body declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020, about six weeks before characterizing it as a pandemic.
The decision to declare a public health emergency was to mobilize international resources to contain and prevent the spread of the virus.
The end of the public health emergency of international concern does not mean that the pandemic is over.
WHO warns that COVID-19 is still a severe global health crisis that requires ongoing management and vigilance. The pandemic continues to cause significant health, economic, and social impacts worldwide.
While most countries have made significant progress in reducing the number of COVID-19 cases, there are still areas of concern.
In some countries, the number of cases has been increasing, and vaccination rates remain low.
WHO advises countries to continue implementing public health measures to control the spread of the virus, including vaccination, testing, contact tracing, and quarantine.
