The World Health Organization (WHO) has downgraded its assessment of the coronavirus pandemic on the 5th (local time), saying it no longer qualifies as an international public health emergency. The move reverses the emergency declaration first announced on January 30, 2020, which did not even have the name Corona 19, and there were no major outbreaks outside of China.
The Associated Press analyzed and reported in detail what the WHO’s decision meant that day.
Why we need to end the international health emergency
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic on COVID-19 had been on a downward trend for more than a year, with vaccinations and infections increasing population immunity. He said this has allowed most countries to “go back to life as they knew it before COVID-19, which means the worst part of the pandemic is over.”
Tedros said over the past year, WHO and emergency committee experts have analyzed COVID-19 data to determine when to lower the alert level. On the 4th, experts advised Director-General Tedros that Corona 19 is no longer suitable as a global emergency, and the head of the WHO said he accepted the advice.
What are the practical effects
It has no effect on ordinary people. The classification of a health threat as an international emergency is intended to alert countries that there is an “extraordinary” event that could pose a health threat to other countries and that a coordinated response is needed to contain it. WHO’s declaration of emergency is commonly used as an international SOS for countries in need. It could also spur most countries to introduce special measures or provide additional funding to combat the disease.
Many countries, including the UK, France, Germany and the US, have long since lifted many of the pandemic-era restrictions. The US will end its national health emergency on the 11th.
Is COVID-19 still a pandemic?
As of now, that can be seen. The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros has said the coronavirus emergency is over, but he warned that the virus remains and continues to kill thousands of people each week.
“There remains a risk of a new strain emerging with a surge in cases and deaths,” Tedros said. will,” he said.
In April, there were nearly 3 million cases of coronavirus infection, including surges in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and more than 17,000 deaths were reported, the United Nations noted.
So, when will the COVID-19 pandemic end?
It is unclear. Michael Ryan, head of the WHO emergency response team, said the coronavirus remains a public health threat and its continued evolution could still cause future problems. “It took decades for the 1918 pandemic virus to go away,” he said, citing the Spanish flu, which is believed to have killed at least 40 million people.
“A pandemic is truly over only when the next pandemic begins,” he said. Ryan said COVID-19 will continue to spread among people for a very long time, but at a much lower level of threat that does not require any special measures taken to contain the spread of the virus.
What else has a state of emergency been declared?
The WHO has previously declared global emergencies over outbreaks of swine flu, Zika, Ebola, polio, and mpox, formerly called monkey pox. Polio was declared almost nine years ago. The state of emergency persisted even while efforts were made to eradicate the disease at the national level.
In July of last year, Secretary-General Tedros declared Mpox, which had explosively spread to dozens of countries, a global emergency and nullified an emergency committee convened to assess the situation. The disease peaked in Europe and North America shortly after, but technically it remains a global emergency.
Do we still need to take measures to prevent COVID-19?
Health officials are advising people to get vaccinated, even though the virus is not spreading anywhere. This includes inoculating booster doses if qualified. Although many of the measures seen at the height of the pandemic, including masks and social distancing, are not necessary except in certain settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes, officials say people with other health conditions or compromised immune systems may still take such precautions. Some of them say you may want to continue.
Unlike the early days of COVID-19, vaccination and high levels of immunity from previous infections helped dramatically reduce the spread of the disease.
Simon Clark, an associate professor of microbiology at the University of Reading in the UK, has warned people against ending all COVID-19 protections.
“The message to the people should still be to care and think of others,” he said. “If you are sick with a respiratory infection like a bad cough, don’t put others, especially the vulnerable, at risk.” “If you pass on the corona infection, no one will thank you. If you are healthy and young, the corona can still be terrible, and if you are old and weak, it can kill you.”
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.