GENEVA, May 5. /TASS/. Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency that has been in effect in the world since 2020.
"Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I've accepted that advice," the WHO chief said. "It's therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency," Ghebreyesus said on Friday during a briefing in Geneva.
The WHO head explained that for more than a year, "the pandemic has been on a downward trend, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and infection, mortality decreasing and the pressure on health systems easing." According to hi, this trend has "allowed most countries to return to life" they knew before.
Ghebreyesus pointed out that countries must remain vigilant about COVID-19, because coronavirus has not gone anywhere and continues to evolve, with the potential for new outbreaks. "This virus is here to stay. It is still killing, and it’s still changing. The risk remains of new variants emerging that cause new surges in cases and deaths," he said. The WHO chief warned that the decision to end the global public health emergency for COVID should not be taken as an opportunity to "let down its guard". The end of the emergency phase does not mean that SARS-CoV-2 is no longer a global threat, the director-general stressed.
The WHO chief also recalled that the "deep scars" that COVID has left on the world "must serve as a permanent reminder of the potential for new viruses to emerge, with devastating consequences," that’s why the global community should learn lessons from the pandemic. In that regard, Ghebreyesus drew attention to the lack of coordination and solidarity in the fight against COVID, which has prevented the global community from making full use of the tools available to deal with the spread of infection.
The director-general also said the WHO Emergency Committee would cease its work and a new body, "a Review Committee to develop long-term, standing recommendations for countries on how to manage COVID-19 on an ongoing basis" will be established.
Russian sanitary watchdog’s reaction
Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) said that the situation with COVID in Russia remains under control, the press service of the Russian sanitary watchdog reported.
"All necessary anti-epidemic measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, as well as measures for the timely detection of the disease are being carried out in the Russian Federation. Work is underway to inform the population on topical issues of prevention of virus infection and continuous monitoring of the epidemic situation," the statement said.