WHO declares the end of the covid pandemic

2023-05-05 16:51:48

More than three years later, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the end of the covid 19 pandemic, a disease that paralyzed the world in 2020 and has killed some 20 million people.

Photo provided by the UN where the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) appears, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. EFE/Eskinder Debebe/ONU /EDITORIAL USE ONLY

The World Health Organization (WHO) has lifted the international emergency and has declared the end of the covid-19 pandemic, in force since January 30, 2020, given the notable reduction in serious cases and deaths globally.

The decision was announced by the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, after the organization’s emergency committee met this Thursday to analyze the current situation of the pandemic, which in more than three years has affected at least 765 million people and has caused the death of some 20 million.

“It is a moment of celebration, achieved after the tireless work of millions of health workers, a lot of innovation and research, difficult decisions made by governments and sacrifices that we have all had to make”, Tedros highlighted when taking stock of 1,221 days. under health emergency.

“It is also a moment for reflection, since the scars that we have been left with must serve as a permanent reminder of the risk of new viruses emerging with devastating consequences,” added the Ethiopian expert.

WHO end pandemic: the covid has not ceased to be a threat

Tedros has also warned that the lifting of the international emergency “does not mean that the covid has ceased to be a threat”, recalling that it still causes one death in the world every three minutes while “thousands of people on the planet continue to fight for their lives in intensive care units” and others suffer from postcovid symptoms.

“The worst thing that countries could do now is use this news as an excuse to lower their guard, dismantle the systems they have built, or send the population the message that there is no need to worry anymore,” highlighted the WHO chief executive. .

However, Tedros has highlighted that for a year the pandemic has followed a downward trend, as the immunization of the global population has increased both due to massive vaccinations and to the natural defenses developed by many of those who have overcome the disease. .

Since the beginning of the year, the number of covid infections and reported deaths has been decreasing globally: in the last week of April, the WHO confirmed 630,000 cases worldwide and 3,500 deaths, when in January there were more than 1.3 million of positives and the 14,000 deaths, partly due to the wave in China.

A review committee will periodically review the covid situation

Tedros has also warned that in the face of a virus that could still change to more lethal and contagious variants, the WHO will remain on guard, and announced that for the first time in the organization’s history, despite there being no international emergency, a committee will be formed of review that will continue to periodically analyze the situation of the virus.

The committee “will develop long-term recommendations so that countries can continue to manage the response to the disease”, at a time when health networks must transition from a state of emergency to one in which covid is treated in a similar way to other infectious diseases.

The director general recalled that the international emergency was declared in January 2020, when there had only been a hundred cases outside of China and no deaths: now the WHO officially recognizes 6.9 million deaths, although Tedros himself acknowledged in your press conference today that the real figure may be at least 20 million.

“Covid-19 has been much more than a health crisis: it has caused economic chaos, subtracting trillions from GDP, affecting travel and commerce, hitting businesses and dragging millions into poverty”, Tedros summed up the brutal impact of the pandemic

In addition, “it has divided nations, and has undermined the confidence of the populations towards their governments and towards institutions, amid large flows of disinformation”, concluded the director general of the World Health Organization.

Test to detect the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 at the Bangalore train station (India). EFE/EPA/IDREES MOHAMMED