The World Health Organization (WHO) lifted the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on the 5th (local time) over the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). It has been 3 years and 3 months since the COVID-19 PHEIC was declared on January 30, 2020.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference that day, “The Emergency Response Committee held its 15th meeting the day before and recommended that the emergency be declared over, and we accepted that advice.” 19 Declares an end to the international public health emergency.” As a result, domestic quarantine authorities are expected to announce additional quarantine measures sooner or later.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the same day, the quarantine authorities will hold a crisis assessment meeting in the latter half of next week and decide on measures to further ease quarantine. It is expected that the Corona 19 crisis alert will be lowered from ‘serious’ to ‘alert’ and the obligation to quarantine confirmed patients will be reduced from 7 days to 5 days.
The quarantine authorities plan to remove the obligation to quarantine confirmed patients and completely lift the obligation to wear masks from July. The legal infectious disease rating for Corona 19 is expected to change from the current level 2 to level 4, such as influenza (flu). At the earliest, there is a high possibility of declaring a’complete endemic (endemic disease)’ to abolish all quarantine measures related to Corona 19 next year.
According to the WHO, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide has exceeded 765 million so far, and the death toll is estimated to be around 7 million. However, it is known that the death toll could reach 20 million. Corona 19 deaths peaked at 100,000 per week in January 2021, but fell to 3,500 at the end of last month.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.