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At least 765 million people infected around the world.
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Over the course of more than three years, the pandemic has caused at least 20 million deaths worldwide.
On May 5th, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the global health emergency for the Covid-19 pandemic, which had been declared since January 30th, 2020, due to the significant reduction in severe cases and deaths worldwide.
While the decision was announced by the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, after the emergency committee of the organization met on Thursday to analyze the current pandemic situation that had affected at least 765 million people and caused the death of around 20 million in over three years.
The end of Covid-19 as a global health emergency:
Tedros Adhanom declared with great hope the end of Covid-19 as a global health emergency, but the organization warns that this does not mean that Covid-19 has ended as a threat to global health.
The Virus Remains a Threat:
According to the WHO, the disease claimed one life every three minutes last week. Thousands of people worldwide are still fighting for their lives in intensive care units, and millions more are living with the debilitating effects of post-Covid condition.
Reduction of Covid cases and deaths:
The number of reported Covid cases and deaths has decreased globally since the beginning of the year. In the last week of April, the WHO confirmed 630,000 cases worldwide and 3,500 deaths, compared to over 1.3 million positive cases and 14,000 deaths in January, partly due to the outbreak in China.
Covid-19 is here to stay:
Tedros Adhanom emphasized that Covid-19 is a virus that “has come to stay,” and there is still a risk of new variants emerging that could lead to further increases in cases and deaths.
Countries should use the information with caution:
The WHO director-general called on countries worldwide to use this information with caution and not give their populations a false sense of security that Covid-19 is not a cause for concern. He reiterated that the worst thing they could do is use this news as a reason to let their guard down, dismantle the systems they have built, or send the message to their people that Covid-19 is not a cause for concern.
The decision was not sudden:
Tedros Adhanom assured that ending the international emergency was not a sudden decision. “It is a decision that has been carefully considered for some time, planned, and taken on the basis of careful data analysis,” he said.
