2023-05-06 01:20:39
French.china.org.cn | Updated on 06-05-2023
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Friday that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (USPPI), the WHO’s highest alert level.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, made the announcement during a virtual press conference from Geneva.
WHO first assigned COVID-19 its highest alert level on January 30, 2020, and a panel of public health experts has continued to apply the label ever since. meetings held every three months. The last meeting of the expert panel was held on Thursday.
“Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended that I declare the end of the public health emergency of international concern (for COVID-19)”, said the director general of WHO.
“I have accepted this advice. It is therefore with great hope that I declare that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency,” he added.
The number of reported weekly deaths is at its lowest since the start of the pandemic, and in most countries life has returned to “normal”, it said earlier in a WHO report. .
In March 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic as the novel coronavirus continued to spread around the world.
According to WHO statistics, as of May 3, 2023, there were more than 765 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including more than 6.9 million deaths.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the true figure was “probably” closer to 20 million deaths – almost three times the official estimate – and he warned the virus remained a significant threat.
The lowering of the alert level “does not mean that COVID-19 is over as a global health threat”, he said at the press conference, alongside senior WHO officials.
On Wednesday, in its plan on preparedness and response, the WHO called on countries to shift from their critical emergency response activities to the longer-term prevention, control and management of the COVID-19 disease. .
The WHO set out three goals in the report: to reduce the circulation of SARS-CoV-2; diagnose and treat COVID-19 to reduce mortality, morbidity and long-term sequelae; support countries in their transition from emergency response to longer-term prevention, control and management of COVID-19 disease.
“COVID-19 has changed our world and it has changed us,” the WHO director-general said at Friday’s press conference, warning that the risk of new variants remained.
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