COVID-19 No Longer Global Health Emergency, WHO Says

COVID-19 is no longer a global pandemic or a global health emergency, World Health Organization officials decided, Friday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "It's with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency.

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, expressed: "There’s still a public health threat out there, and we all see that every day in terms of the evolution of this virus, in terms of its global presence, its continued evolution and continued vulnerabilities in our communities, both societal vulnerabilities, age vulnerabilities, protection vulnerabilities, and many other things."

In the official statement of the WHO, the world organization advised: "States Parties are advised to continue following the issued Temporary Recommendations."

In May 2022, WHO experts revealed that the end of the pandemic was "in sight", publishing some recommendations for governments for following on infection control, testing, and vaccination.

COVID-19 was acknowledged as a pandemic in March 2020, which led to worldwide restrictions, lockdowns, and travel bans.